#i may be atheist but I spent 10 years active in the community and I'm still very attached to it all

[bookwyrminspiration]

ooh what is ayyám-i-há?

!! I would love to explain! Basically, in the Baha'i faith the calendar is split into 19 months (jalál/glory, qawl/speech, etc), and each is 19 days long. However, that doesn't add up to a complete 365/366 day solar year, it leaves 4-5 days in-between.

Those intercalary days are ayyám-i-há! To round out the year, those days are when we celebrate and come together, a time of giving, generosity, hospitality, charity, friendship etc. At my local center, every kid would bring a small gift, the adults would hide them around the biggest room there, and then we'd go on a little scavenger hunt and whatever gift you found first was yours! Got my juggling balls that way :)

It comes right before the fast, so it's a time of indulgences before that restraint. It's basically a time to be joyous and celebrate life and community and giving--the Baha'i faith highly values community and unity. There's no specific way to celebrate, and it's also open to anyone who wants to participate! Hence why I brought it up, I figured I could share a little bit of my life and background since so many others have done the same.

I could probably say more, but that's a good overview of what ayyám-i-há is :)