Bahá'ís across Canada celebrate the New Year

Toronto, Ontario, 19 March 2012 (CBNS) — This Wednesday, 21 March 2012, is the Bahá'í New Year for more than four hundred and eighty Bahá'í communities across Canada. It marks the beginning of the 169th year of the Bahá'í Era. Celebrations of Naw-Ruz will take different forms throughout Canada given the diverse cultures and backgrounds of the Bahá'ís.

Fredericton Bahá'í youth will open the celebration by talking about Naw-Ruz and its significance to the Bahá'í community. This will be followed by artistic and musical performances from community members, including songs and a perfomance from the youth band.

In Toronto, there will be a centralized event for the community with music, and devotional readings. There will also be several community events in neighbourhoods across Toronto. These celebrations will gather together all those who are engaged in junior youth groups, children’s classes, study circles and devotional gatherings.

The Bahá'ís of Saskatoon expect to have over 350 people at their festive event. As in many other communities across Canada, the celebration will include programs of spiritual upliftment, music and dancing, and feasting.

The celebration of Naw-Ruz comes at the end of the annual 19-day fast (March 2-20) during which Bahá'ís abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset as a way of calling to mind their spiritual nature and detaching from their material desires.

The Bahá'í New Year coincides with the vernal equinox, which symbolizes a time of the inner spiritual and physical renewal of humanity.

Members of Halifax Bahá'í Community with the Member of Legislative Assembly Kelly Regan

at Naw-Ruz celebration in Halifax in 2011. © Bahá'í Community of Halifax

Source: www.bahainews.ca