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Celebrating the Festival of Ridván

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The Festival of Ridván (meaning Paradise), April 20–May 1, honors the start of the Bahá’í Faith in 1863. In a garden outside of Baghdad, Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, announced that He was a Messenger of God.

Bahá’u’lláh was preparing to leave for what is now Istanbul. He spent 12 days with friends in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. Every day, gardeners picked roses and piled them so high that people couldn’t see over them as they drank tea in Bahá’u’lláh’s tent. He sent the roses as gifts to friends throughout the city and met with those of many faiths who came to say good-bye.

Ridván gatherings often include prayers, music, drama, and other arts, shared in a spirit of joyful fellowship. Here are some creative ways to honor the occasion. 

 

Ideas for a Joyous Ridván Festival
 

    


We sit and say prayers and stories in our tent every morning and evening, and we also listen to the song “Garden of Ridván.”

Each day of the festival there is a white rose with a note for the day. It can be a special outing or quote about Ridván or anything related to Ridván. So by end of the festival, there will be 12 roses.

I made fruit salad, cupcakes, and rose pastries. The kids enjoyed seeing this after a long day at school. We made a model representing the Garden of Ridván.

— Haleh Lady, Michigan, U.S.
 

 


As parents to a two-year-old boy, one of our priorities is to create a festive environment at home to celebrate our Holy Days in a way that is special and interesting to him. It is also wonderful to be part of a Bahá’í Mommies group where we exchange ideas and get inspired. So for this Ridván, I have created a very simple yet beautiful tent, following a tutorial.

Together with our son, we made the garden and the river out of paper. The garland on the fireplace has the Tablet of Ridván divided in 12 segments to study one per day and a flower arrangement of beautiful roses with the word “RIDVAN” as a centerpiece. 

We are enjoying our little garden every night as we read stories and learn songs about the King of Festivals!

— Melissa L. Charepoo, Georgia, U.S.
 

 


Our program started with a simple breakfast of cheeses, home-cooked breads, organic fruit, nuts, cucumber and tomato slices, fragrant Persian tea from the Samovar, and freshly brewed coffee.

The tent was a hit, but the display piece that received the most attention from our goggling guests was Brooke’s magical diorama of Bahá’u’lláh’s tent in Najíbíyyih Garden.

The children lined up at the door of the tent. One by one, each child was ushered over to a wise village elder (my mom) who dripped a few drops of rose water on their hands, so that they could perfume themselves. Upon entering that most sacred spot (our living room tent), the children sat quietly (yeah . . . sure) until the adults had arranged themselves between them. Navváb started us off with “Refresh and Gladden my Spirit.” The other children offered their prayers, and the nightingales outside warbled their sweet melodies (we had an awesome nature CD playing).

After prayers, the village sage (moi) told the story of Bahá’u’lláh’s banishment from Iran, His subsequent stay in Baghdad, and the events surrounding His expulsion from that city.

— Emad Talisman, Ontario, Canada 
 

 


 

— Janna Denton-Howes, British Columbia, Canada

 

 

Ridván is always a very beloved time for us, and we try hard to make it special. It's one of the kids’ favourite Holy Day times, and they really feel connected to this time in history.

This is a picture of our living room during the days of Ridván—we turn it into a “tent” in order to help transport ourselves back to the time of those early believers who spent these wonderful and historic days in the Ridván Garden. Every morning we have prayers in the tent, and every evening we reflect on the day together in the tent. We chant together, and it feels very different from the other days of the year.

This year, we also created a Ridván calendar, made of a felted mat, 12 roses made of dyed and waxed red cloth, and a tent which we built from wood, cloth, and lace. Each day the children were allowed to add a rose, and on the three Holy Days the roses also had leaves to set them apart. The children really enjoyed it, and it added to experiencing all 12 days of Ridván as a special time.

As a community, we had one celebration on 21 April at our house “in the Ridván tent,” where we tried to transport the friends into the Ridván Garden at the time of Bahá’u’lláh by telling stories, singing songs, and reading quotes and prayers, surrounded by the singing of nightingales (from a CD) and the smell of roses (from a fragrant oil burner). Each guest was welcomed with some drops of rose water on the hands.

On 29 April we rented a beautiful garden and log cabin a little outside our city and celebrated with many friends of the Faith, devotions, an introduction to the meaning of Ridván, and a presentation by our middle son (8 years old) playing historian Nabíl-i-A‘zam and telling his story from the Ridván Garden. Afterward, we had a big barbecue together and sat at the bonfire for hours singing Bahá’í songs together. It was magical!

On 2 May we met at the house of another Bahá’í family for prayers, more music, yummy food, and socializing. It was a very blessed Ridván time indeed!

— K.M., Germany

Updated on 4.20.16