The Bab introduced a new calendar, known now as the Badi or Baha'i
calendar (see notes 27 and 147). According to this calendar, a day is the
period from sunset to sunset. In the Bayan, the Bab ordained the month of
'Ala to be the month of fasting, decreed that the day of Naw-Ruz should
mark the termination of that period, and designated Naw-Ruz as the Day of
God. Baha'u'llah confirms the Badi calendar wherein Naw-Ruz is designated
as a feast.
Naw-Ruz is the first day of the new year. It coincides with the spring
equinox in the northern hemisphere, which usually occurs on 21 March.
Baha'u'llah explains that this feast day is to be celebrated on whatever
day the sun passes into the constellation of Aries (i.e. the vernal
equinox), even should this occur one minute before sunset (Q and A 35).
Hence Naw-Ruz could fall on 20, 21, or 22 March, depending on the time of
the equinox.
Baha'u'llah has left the details of many laws to be filled in by the
Universal House of Justice. Among these are a number of matters affecting
the Baha'i calendar. The Guardian has stated that the implementation,
worldwide, of the law concerning the timing of Naw-Ruz will require the
choice of a particular spot on earth which will serve as the standard for
the fixing of the time of the spring equinox. He also indicated that the
choice of this spot has been left to the decision of the Universal House
of Justice.
27. Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of
fasting. #16
The Badi calendar is based on the solar year of 365 days, 5 hours, and 50
odd minutes. The year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e. 361
days), with the addition of four extra days (five in a leap year). The Bab
did not specifically define the place for the intercalary days in the new
calendar. The Kitab-i-Aqdas resolves this question by assigning the
"excess" days a fixed position in the calendar immediately preceding the
month of 'Ala, the period of fasting. For further details see the section
on the Baha'i calendar in The Baha'i World, volume XVIII.
28. We have ordained that these ... shall be the manifestations of the
letter Ha #16
Known as the Ayyam-i-Ha (the Days of Ha), the Intercalary Days have the
distinction of being associated with "the letter Ha". The abjad numerical
value of this Arabic letter is five, which corresponds to the potential
number of intercalary days.
The letter "Ha" has been given several spiritual meanings in the Holy
Writings, among which is as a symbol of the Essence of God.