Two days of sacred celebration
Among the most joyous and sacred occasions in the Bahá’í calendar are the Twin Holy Birthdays, commemorating the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. Observed on two consecutive days, this year the Birth of the Báb will be celebrated from sunset on Monday, 9 November, followed by the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh from sunset on Tuesday, 10 November. These celebrations hold a unique place in the life of the Bahá’í community, honouring the coming of the two Divine Manifestations whose successive Revelations ushered in a new era in humanity’s spiritual history.
Although the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh were born two years apart, their birthdays are celebrated together as the Twin Holy Days, highlighting the unique spiritual connection between their missions. The Báb, the Herald of Bahá’u’lláh, prepared humanity for the coming of Him Whom God would make manifest, while Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Divine Teachings destined to bring about the spiritual and material transformation of the world.
The special relationship between these two holy days is expressed by Bahá’u’lláh Himself in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas says:
“These two days are accounted as one in the sight of God.”
The observance of these two Holy Birthdays on successive days gives this period a particularly sacred and joyful character. Their nearness to one another serves to heighten our consciousness of the mystical connection between the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh and their respective Revelations, inviting us to set these days apart from the ordinary rhythms of life and to honour them with the reverence, joy and loving attention they deserve. In Days of Remembrance, Bahá’u’lláh Himself draws our attention to the intimate relationship between these two blessed nights when a Manifestation of God was born during the course of each. He calls on us to reflect upon them both:
“O concourse of earth and heaven! This is that first night, which God hath made to be a sign of that second night, whereon was born He Whom no praise can befittingly extol and no attribute describe. Well is it with him who reflecteth upon them both: Verily, he will find their outer reality to correspond to their inner essence, and will become acquainted with the divine mysteries that lie enshrined in this Revelation, a Revelation through which the foundations of misbelief have been shaken, the idols of superstition have been shattered, and the banner hath been unfurled which proclaimeth, ‘No God is there but Him, the Powerful, the Exalted, the Incomparable, the Protector, the Mighty, the Inaccessible.’”
— Bahá’u’lláh, Days of Remembrance
As the Twin Holy Birthdays approach, the friends are encouraged to give thoughtful attention to how these sacred days might be honoured in homes and communities, extending invitations to neighbours and others with whom bonds of friendship are being established. Through prayer, music, sharing stories from the lives of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and a myriad ways in which joy and reverence can prevail, you will have done what you can to befittingly play your part in making these Days of Remembrance.
May this year's Twin Holy Birthdays be a time of heartfelt celebration filled with gratitude for the immeasurable blessings bestowed upon humanity through the coming of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
A resource for reflection and celebration
The friends may wish to draw upon Days of Remembrance, which contains a beautiful selection of Tablets revealed by Bahá’u’lláh relating to the Bahá’í Holy Days, including several specifically associated with the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh.
The collection is available to read online through the Bahá’í Reference Library.
