On Friday the 13th . . .

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On Friday the 13th, an extra ‘thought for the month’  from Thames Valley Baha’i Community . . . taken from The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Pages 194-197: gr4, author ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1982 second edition):
 
 “Such suppositions regarding lucky or unlucky numbers are purely imaginary. The superstition concerning thirteen had its origin in the fact that Jesus Christ was surrounded by twelve disciples and that Judas Iscariot was the thirteenth member of their gathering. This is the source of the superstition, but it is purely imaginary. Although Judas was outwardly a disciple, in reality he was not.
 
“Twelve is the original number of significance and completion. Jacob had twelve sons from whom descended twelve tribes. The disciples of Jesus were twelve; the Imáms of Muḥammad were twelve. The zodiacal signs are twelve; the months of the year are twelve, etc.”
 
The words were taken from a talk by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, delivered in New York at the home of Mr and Mrs Howard MacNutt, 935 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York on 16 June 1912.
More details from Bahai Reference Library.

Enjoying Naw-Ruz in Equatorial Guinea

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Naw-Ruz celebrations in Equatorial Guinea
Copyright 2006. Reproduced with permission of Baha'i International Community. http://media.bahai.org

For Bahá’í communities around the world, 21 March was a very special day – their New Year’s Day.

This photograph, of Baha’i children at a 1989 Naw-Ruz (New Year) celebration in Equatorial Guinea, is the latest in the series of pictures – presented by Thames Valley Baha’i Community –  taken around the world at past Naw-Ruz celebrations.

The Bahá’í New Year, also known as Naw-Ruz (which means New Day), coincides with the start of spring and is the year 167 in the Bahá’í calendar, which dates from 1844 (birth of the Bahá’í Faith).