Introduction

The
festival of Ayyám-i-Há is celebrated each year from the
evening of February 25 and ends at sunset of March 1. The festival intendeds
to spiritually prepare the people for the Fast. The days of Ayyám-i-Há
calls the people to detach themselves from material things by performing
special acts of charity, distributing gifts and being hospitable towards
others.
Origin
The Baháí calendar consists of 19 months of 19
days each. This means the calender needs 4 days (5 days in a leap year) to
equal a solar year. By definition, these days which are added to make up a
solar year are called intercalary days.
In revealing this Bábí calendar, the Báb did not
exactly say where to place these intercalary days. Bahá'u'lláh
named these days in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and specified their place in
the year.
Ayyám-i-Há means the Days of Há. Há
is the Arabic letter corresponding to the English H and one of
the three Arabic letters which make up the word Bahá. Há
is also the first letter of an Arabic pronoun commonly used in its religious
writings to refer to God, or the Divine Essence. Há
by itself is used as a symbol of "the Essence of God."
Celebrations
Of this period Bahá'u'lláh writes, It behoveth the
people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for
themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy
and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and
magnify His Name.
Thus Ayyám-i-Há is celebrated with grace by the followers of
the Baháí Faith. They spend time in spiritual activities
and are kind and generous towards others.