'Abdu'l-Bahá's Naw-Rúz Talk in Alexandria

In 1912, while traveling in Egypt, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá observed the Feast of Naw-Rúz — the Bahá’í New Year that falls on the spring equinox — at Alexandria. The talk He gave that day became one of the most cited passages on the meaning of the Bahá’í Holy Days, and was preserved by J. E. Esslemont in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:

In the sacred laws of God, in every cycle and dispensation there are blessed feasts, holidays and workless days. On such days all kinds of occupations, commerce, industry, agriculture, etc., should be suspended. All should rejoice together, hold general meetings, become as one assembly, so that the national oneness, unity and harmony may be demonstrated in the eyes of all.

He then warned against an empty observance — a Holy Day reduced to mere holiday:

As it is a blessed day it should not be neglected, nor deprived of results by making it a day devoted to the pursuit of mere pleasure. During such days institutions should be founded that may be of permanent benefit and value to the people.... Today there is no result or fruit greater than guiding the people. Undoubtedly the friends of God, upon such a day, must leave tangible philanthropic or ideal traces that should reach all mankind and not pertain only to the Bahá’ís. In this wonderful dispensation, philanthropic affairs are for all humanity without exception, because it is the manifestation of the mercifulness of God. Therefore, my hope is that the friends of God, every one of them, may become as the mercy of God to all mankind.

In Persia, Esslemont notes, Naw-Rúz had long been celebrated by picnics or festal gatherings at which music, the chanting of verses and Tablets, and short addresses suitable to the occasion were contributed by those present. The intercalary days that immediately precede the month of fasting are devoted to hospitality to friends, the giving of presents, and ministering to the poor and the sick.

The Master’s Naw-Rúz instruction widens that older Persian custom into a universal one. The new year is to be more than rest; it is to be a day on which the friends of God become as the mercy of God to all mankind.

Source: J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (1923), recording a Naw-Rúz address by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Alexandria, 1912. Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19241.

Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. George Allen & Unwin. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html