Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop, Christmas and Baha'is: Warwick Leaflets, bahai-library.com.
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Christmas and Bahá'ís:
Warwick Leaflets
Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop
2002
Bahá'ís are
often asked if they celebrate Christmas. The answer is not a simple "yes" or
"no", so this leaflet tries to explain why.
Bahá'ís
believe that Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was the Promised One
of all religions. Therefore Bahá'ís believe that all of the major religions are
true and from God, but that the Bahá'í Faith is the one for this age.
Bahá'ís cannot
celebrate the festivals of all of the religions, it would not make sense, so
they celebrate the Bahá'í festivals instead. The Bahá'í Holy Days mark events in
the life of Bahá'u'lláh and the early history of the Faith.
However, the
Bahá'í Faith is all about unity, and Bahá'ís do not wish to cut themselves off
from anyone who is not a Bahá'í. Most people in this country celebrate Christmas
and Bahá'ís will join in these celebrations. So Bahá'ís do not celebrate
Christmas amongst themselves, but they will happily celebrate Christmas with
people who are not Bahá'ís. For example, in a Bahá'í family, where the parents
and children are Bahá'ís, they do not usually buy one another Christmas
presents. But if grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are not Bahá'ís, the
Bahá'í family will exchange presents with them and will celebrate with them.
At school,
Bahá'í children will happily join in the nativity play and sing carols. This is
not a problem, because Bahá'ís revere Christ as a Messenger of God. In fact,
Bahá'ís believe Bahá'u'lláh to be the Return of Christ.
In the same
way, Bahá'ís see no difficulty with joining in the celebrations of their friends
who might be Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim for example. Bahá'ís respect everyone's
beliefs.
In other
countries, where for instance Buddhism might be the main religion, Bahá'ís will
celebrate Buddhist festivals with their friends and relatives who are not
Bahá'ís.
Bahá'ís
usually exchange presents during a celebration at the end of February, when
there will often also be parties for both children and adults. Children may also
receive gifts on some of the other Holy Days.
New Year
Bahá'ís also
celebrate new year at a different time. The Bahá'í Faith has its own calendar,
and the Bahá'í new year falls on the 21st March each year. It is
known as Naw Rúz. However, if Bahá'ís are invited to join in festivities on 31st December they will quite happily accept, just as they are quite happy to invite
anyone to a party for Naw Rúz. In fact, Bahá'ís enjoy hosting parties and
inviting their friends to Holy Day celebrations. This is all part of bringing
people together to build the unity which the world so desperately needs today.
The text of all these leaflets remains the copyright of Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop. The Bookshop is happy for people to download individual copies for their own purposes. Printed copies can be purchased from the Warwick Bookshop. Individuals or communities wishing to translate or print these leaflets in other countries please contact the Bookshop for permission.
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──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Christmas and Bahá'ís:
Warwick Leaflets
Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop
2002
Bahá'ís are
often asked if they celebrate Christmas. The answer is not a simple "yes" or
"no", so this leaflet tries to explain why.
Bahá'ís
believe that Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was the Promised One
of all religions. Therefore Bahá'ís believe that all of the major religions are
true and from God, but that the Bahá'í Faith is the one for this age.
Bahá'ís cannot
celebrate the festivals of all of the religions, it would not make sense, so
they celebrate the Bahá'í festivals instead. The Bahá'í Holy Days mark events in
the life of Bahá'u'lláh and the early history of the Faith.
However, the
Bahá'í Faith is all about unity, and Bahá'ís do not wish to cut themselves off
from anyone who is not a Bahá'í. Most people in this country celebrate Christmas
and Bahá'ís will join in these celebrations. So Bahá'ís do not celebrate
Christmas amongst themselves, but they will happily celebrate Christmas with
people who are not Bahá'ís. For example, in a Bahá'í family, where the parents
and children are Bahá'ís, they do not usually buy one another Christmas
presents. But if grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are not Bahá'ís, the
Bahá'í family will exchange presents with them and will celebrate with them.
At school,
Bahá'í children will happily join in the nativity play and sing carols. This is
not a problem, because Bahá'ís revere Christ as a Messenger of God. In fact,
Bahá'ís believe Bahá'u'lláh to be the Return of Christ.
In the same
way, Bahá'ís see no difficulty with joining in the celebrations of their friends
who might be Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim for example. Bahá'ís respect everyone's
beliefs.
In other
countries, where for instance Buddhism might be the main religion, Bahá'ís will
celebrate Buddhist festivals with their friends and relatives who are not
Bahá'ís.
Bahá'ís
usually exchange presents during a celebration at the end of February, when
there will often also be parties for both children and adults. Children may also
receive gifts on some of the other Holy Days.
New Year
Bahá'ís also
celebrate new year at a different time. The Bahá'í Faith has its own calendar,
and the Bahá'í new year falls on the 21st March each year. It is
known as Naw Rúz. However, if Bahá'ís are invited to join in festivities on 31st December they will quite happily accept, just as they are quite happy to invite
anyone to a party for Naw Rúz. In fact, Bahá'ís enjoy hosting parties and
inviting their friends to Holy Day celebrations. This is all part of bringing
people together to build the unity which the world so desperately needs today.
The text of all these leaflets remains the copyright of Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop. The Bookshop is happy for people to download individual copies for their own purposes. Printed copies can be purchased from the Warwick Bookshop. Individuals or communities wishing to translate or print these leaflets in other countries please contact the Bookshop for permission.
METADATA
Views17028 views since posted 2010-07-07; last edit 2026-04-18 15:24 UTC;
previous at archive.org.../warwick_christmas
Language
English
Permission
editor and publisher
Share
Shortlink: bahai-library.com/3807
Citation: ris/3807
select Collection:
Archives
Articles
Articles-unpublished
Audio
Bibliographies
BIC
Biographies
Books
Chronologies
Compilations
Compilations-NSA
Compilations-personal
Documents
East-asia
Encyclopedia
Essays
Etc
Excerpts
Fiction
Glossaries
Guardian
Histories
Introductory
Letters
Maps
Music
Newspapers
NSA-documents
NSA-letters
Personal
Pilgrims
Poetry
Presentations
Resources
Reviews
Scripts
Software
Statistics
Study
Talks
Theses
Transcripts
Translations
UHJ-documents
UHJ-letters
Video
Visual
Writings
home
sitemap
series
chronology
search:
author
title
date
tags
adv. search
languages
inventory
bibliography
abbreviations
links
about
contact
RSS
new
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