Festivals Bahai Ridvan

The festival of Ridvan, considered the "most great festival" in Bahai, is a 12-day celebration that started at sunset Friday and runs through sunset May 2. Ridvan marks the public declaration of Baha Allah to his claim as the great messenger of God, "The Promised One of All Religions," that the Bab, Allah's predecessor, had predicted in 1844. The Bab had a six-year ministry in Persia, where he called on people to purify and prepare themselves for the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest."Within the holiday, the first, ninth and 12th days are Holy Days, when work is suspended. These days mark Baha Allah's arrival in the garden two hours before sunset, the arrival of his family and his departure. Bahais have no rituals, so there aren't many traditions, but most Bahai bodies do hold elections for their governing bodies on the first day of Ridvan.

The day Baha Allah entered the garden, he made three announcements: Followers were prohibited from fighting to advance or defend their faith.

One thousand years would pass before another prophet would appear.

At that moment, all the names of God would be fully manifest in all things. Baha Allah, a top follower of Bab, was imprisoned in 1853. Bahais believe that while he was there, God revealed he was to be that Promised One. However, after his release he kept the revelation secret for 10 years. Despite his quietness on that topic, he became very influential with the people, prompting authorities in Baghdad to send him and his followers to Constantinople. Before his departure in 1863, Baha Allah went to a garden that has become known as the Garden of Ridvan. Ridvan means paradise, good pleasure or splendor. (One source suggests riz-wan as its pronunciation.) He spent 12 days there, preparing for the long journey. Guests of all walks of life came to pay their respects. At some point in this period, Baha Allah declared to some of the people gathered that he was the Promised One.

SOURCES: http://bahai.about.com/http://www.britannica.com/http:// www2.h-net.msu.edu/~bahai/trans/vol1/ridvan1.htmhttp:// www.infonet.st-johns.nf.ca/providers/bahai/ridvan.htmlhttp://bahai- library.org/encyclopedia/ridvan.htmlhttp://bahai-library.org/ newspapers/ridvan.election.html

What happened today?

Christian History magazine, published by Christianity Today Inc., posts important dates in Christianity on its Web site. (http:// www.christianitytoday.com/)Here are today's events as quoted from Christian History:

April 21, 1109
Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury and one of the most profound
thinkers of the Middle Ages, dies around age 76. He is known for his
argument that faith is the precondition of knowledge ("credo ut
intelligam"), his "satisfaction theory" of the atonement ("No one but
one who is God-man can make the satisfaction by which man is saved")
and for his ontological argument for God's existence.
April 21, 1142
Medieval French philosopher, teacher, and theologian Pierre Abelard
dies. Though well-known for his writings on revelation and the
relationship between faith and knowledge, he is probably most famous
for his love letters to Heloise, a nun.
April 21, 1855
Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher in Boston, leads 18-year-old
shoe salesman Dwight L. Moody to Christ at the Holton Shoe Store.
Moody went on to become the most successful evangelist of his day.
April 21, 1897
A.W. Tozer, devotional writer ("The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge
of the Holy") and influential pastor in the Missionary Alliance
Church, is born.