Happy Ayyam-i-Ha everyone! I skipped posting on the blog last week since I was getting ready for my Ayyam-i-Ha party this weekend. I hadn't had an Ayyam-i-Ha celebration in my home in a really long time and I wanted it to be great. For those of you who may not know what Ayyam-i-Ha is, I will explain.
The Baha'i calendar has 19 months with 19 days each which leaves 4 days left over (5 in a leap year) in order to align with the 365 days of the Gregorian solar calendar. Bahá'u'lláh, The prophet-founder of the Baha'i Faith, declared that these days should be celebrated with acts of love, fellowship, unity, charity, gift-giving and goodwill. Ayyam-i-Ha means "The Days of Ha". “Ha” is an Arabic term that essentially means the “Essence of God.”
When I was young my mom decided to create a tradition to help us celebrate by creating an "Ayyam-i-Ha Tree". This year, I decided to re-create my childhood Ayyam-i-Ha tree in order to make it more of a celebration. The symbolism behind all the decorations/ornaments (leaves, flags, doves and nine pointed stars) come directly from the Baha'i Writings. The relevant quotes are directly below the pictures. I think the tree turned out great! What do you think?
"God has created man in order that he may be a dove of the Kingdom, a heavenly candle, a recipient of eternal life. God has created man in order that he may be resuscitated through the breaths of the Holy Spirit and become the light of the world."(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 185)
"It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 250)
"The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch." (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 218)
"These sanctified Mirrors, these Day Springs of ancient glory, are, one and all, the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They are the Treasuries of Divine knowledge, and the Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them is revealed the Light that can never fade. These Tabernacles of Holiness, these Primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the revelation of these Gems of Divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty, and grace, are made manifest." (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 47)
Thank you one and all for sharing this celebration of Ayyam-i-Ha! Having my friends there really made it special and it meant a lot to me! Happy Ayyam-i-Ha and I hope to see you all next year! Enjoy these pictures from the Gag-Gift Ayyam-i-Ha party that we had last night!
.jpg)
3 comments:
I really like your Ayyamiha tree...looks fantastic! I have been trying to recreate something of the sort as well but not sure how to begin...where did you get the tree itself or did you put the tree with limbs and leaves together? would love some advice on the actual tree.
Ladan
The tree itself is real. I just go out into the country and find a dead tree branch that is full and ready to be re-adorned with leaves. The leaves you can buy at an arts and crafts store. They have a wire you can use to twist them onto the branches of the tree. But first I use magic marker on the leaves to place the names of all my friends and family.
wow thats cool
Post a Comment