All posts tagged: Baha’i faith

On Fasting: some answered questions

Tomorrow is the last day of the Baha’i fast. For nineteen days, Baha’is all over the world have been abstaining from food and drink between dawn and sunset.  And, for nineteen days, random people all over the world who have never encountered someone who fasted before have asked lots of questions, frequently starting with “why the heck would you do that!?!” These are the questions I often get, and my answers to them. 1. Why the heck would you do that? First, because participating in the fast is part of my faith.  As part of being a Baha’i, we are asked to act in a certain way, and uphold certain principals.  I firmly believe that everything that God requires of us has a specific purpose, and is absolutely necessary.  Sometimes we, as people, can understand the purpose, but sometimes the laws of God don’t immediately makes sense, and we just have to trust that they are right.  That’s faith. The fast is something I can completely understand and accept without any leaps of faith.  Fasting …

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha, and what I’m doing

Today is the last day of Ayyam-i-ha, the four (five in leap years) day Baha’i holiday of festivities, gift giving, and charity work. Ayyam-i-ha has some similarities with shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, as it is a period of celebration before the beginning of a period of abstinence.  Instead of Lent, Ayyam-i-ha is followed by the 19 day Baha’i fast, in which healthy adults abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset. Ayyam-i-ha is also comparable to Christmas, as it is celebrated with gift giving, and acts of charity.  Luckily commercialism has not yet cottoned on to Ayyam-i-ha, and tried to steal the true meaning away. I usually mark Ayyam-i-ha by cleaning my house and treating myself to fresh flowers to decorate it with.  I cook all of Tim’s favourite foods as my gift to him.  I also bake cookies and other treats, and take them to the neighbors and to friends.  Every year I pick a charity to make a monetary donation to, and a charity to donate goods and time to.  Most years I …