The Twin Holy Birthdays
17 September 2020
11 ‘Izzat 177 B.E.
GC-35130
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All believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
The National Spiritual Assembly sends you its warmest love and greetings.
The anniversaries of the Births of Bahá’u’lláh and of the Báb are fast approaching. This year, the Twin Holy Birthdays – two days which Bahá’u’lláh stated “are accounted as one in the sight of God” in His Most Holy Book – will fall in mid-October, as follows:
- 18 October – Birth of the Báb
- 19 October – Birth of Bahá’u’lláh
As always, these Holy Days are observed as beginning at sunset on the evening before the dates listed above and ending on these dates at sunset. To assist in preparing for the bounty of celebrating these days, the National Assembly wishes to share with you the following words, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, which impart a compelling vision for the nature of the occasion:
On each of these blessed Days…the whole world was illumined with the light of a new Manifestation of God. The friends should regard the Twin Festivals as a sacred moment to gather and strengthen the devotional and social life of the community and as a priceless opportunity to reach out to friends, family, and the wider society and share with them the significance of the lives and missions of these two most precious Beings.
To all National Spiritual Assemblies, 8 September 2015
The coming Holy Days, following on from the momentous bicentenary celebrations of 2017 and 2019, offer a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with any friends or colleagues who may have taken part in those historic observances, indeed all with whom we are connected. And although it will not be possible to organise large in-person gatherings in the traditional way this year, it is hoped that creative ways will be found in each of your communities to offer safe approaches to the celebrations that will allow as many individuals as possible – adults of all ages, youth and children – to mark these significant days.
The National Spiritual Assembly lovingly invites you, individually and collectively, to consider how best to celebrate befittingly the joyful occasion of the Twin Birthdays, which are Holy Days on which work should be suspended if possible.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary