Happy Ridván!!!

"Say: The Most Great Festival is, indeed, the King of Festivals. Call ye to mind, O people, the bounty which God hath conferred upon you." -Bahá'u'lláh

"The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all created things may be regenerated and made new. Speak, and hold not thy peace." -Bahá'u'lláh

The 12 day festival of Ridván takes place from April 21st through May 2nd. The three days on which work is suspended are the first day of Ridván (April 21st), the ninth day (April 29th), and the twelfth day (May 2nd).

It was during these twelve days that Bahá'u'lláh resided in the Garden of Ridván (meaning Paradise) before he left to go to the city of Constantinople. He and His family had been living in Baghdád, where They were much loved by many people. But the powerful people in Baghdád didn't like this, and said bad things about Him to the government. Finally the government decided to send Bahá'u'lláh and His family to Constantinople (in the country of Turkey)

During the twelve days that Bahá'u'lláh spent in the Garden of Ridván, something wonderful happened. He declared His Mission, that He was the Manifestation of God that they were all waiting for. It was joyous news!

On the ninth day of Ridván Bahá'u'lláh's family joined Him in the garden.

The Garden of Ridván was beautiful. There were hundreds of roses, which were picked each morning and given to friends. The pile of roses was so big each morning that if you were sitting on one side you could not see the people sitting on the other side! Can you imagine that? It must have smelled wonderful.

What does your community do to celebrate Ridván?



Contributions!

Ridván Decoration (from Diana)
I'm writing to share with you an idea for a simple Ridvan decoration
Supplies:
a low, shallow vase with an opening not smaller than 7x5 inches OR a large globe shaped rose bowl (you could go smaller if you decrease the size of everything else, too)
1 - 3 smooth river rocks (more if you're working large)--these can be bought at your local garden center or gathered
some smaller rocks to fill in, natural colors or of your choosing
glass florists beads, dark green or choice
glass florists beads, iridescent
water & blue food coloring
a tiny tube like container
a small bit of greenery
micro glitter
a small candle
1. Begin by placing the river rock/s in the vase. The larger rocks represent the island of Ridvan.
2. Add water and a couple of drops of blue food coloring, lightly stir.
3. Place the smaller rocks around the edges of the island in a way that looks pleasing.
4. Fill the tiny tube shaped vase with water and wedge it into place among the rocks. Place the greenery in the tiny vase to bring some life to your island.
5. Add the dark green glass beads then the iridescent beads. The dark ones provide a background to help the iridescent beads show up under the water. I used mostly dark beads and a few iridescent ones for a watery accent.
6. You can stop here or go further by sticking a small candle onto one of the rocks and floating a little glitter on the water which will reflect the flame of the candle when lit. Some people find glitter unappealing...others love it...what can I say? I tried both versions.
7. What variations can you come up with? Please share your ideas with me. This is fun!

May you all have a glorious Ridvan season.



If anyone has any stories, pictures, poems, etc. about Ridván that you'd like to share, feel free to e-mail them to me and I would love to post them here.



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Created by: Honey Moser
Last Updated: 8 May 2002
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