Ten seconds before midnight each Dec. 31, a glowing ball begins to descend above New York’s Times Square to mark East Coast America’s new year. In China, the new year moves around according to the ancient Chinese calendar. It usually occurs between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, falling on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Whenever it arrives, it’s time for celebrating. Forget the descent of a lighted ball. Think hours, even days, of fireworks. I’ve witnessed tons of celebratory debris being swept up by unnumbered street cleaners the following day.
Different religions also observe New Year at different times. Rosh HaShanah, “head of the year” in Hebrew, is the Jewish New Year, known also as “day of shouting/blasting.” In the northern hemisphere it falls in late summer/early autumn. Western Christians use the Gregorian calendar to observe Jan. 1 as the New Year. Orthodox New Year, based on the Julian calendar, occurs on Gregorian Jan. 14. Islam’s New Year begins on the first day of Muharram, the Muslim year’s first month. Because Islam follows the lunar calendar, Muharram can occur throughout the year.
Today on the Palouse is both the first day of spring and the first day of the new Baha’i year. As the northern hemisphere greets spring, following a winter that disrupted lives of many folks around the world, I greet you today with hopes for a most “Happy New Year!”
Last Thursday I spotted the first tiny yellow crocus peeping from under my porch. Across the yard I watched my botanist daughter tend her own peeping plants, while three-day-old twin lambs bleated, toddled and cavorted around her. Their mother nursed long enough to provide their necessary colostrum before dying. She was pretty old, but gallant. Linda helped birth them and now has them indoors to bottle-feed them for their first few days. Both are hearty and bouncy, but the ram lamb is twice as big as his sister. As of this writing we have seven lambs, with four ewes still undelivered. Definitely signs of spring.
This evening, Baha’is of the Palouse are gathering at the home of a local Baha’i couple to celebrate with an Asian-themed potluck dinner, followed by songs, devotions and readings to welcome in the new year. It will be more subdued and understated than a descending ball of light or fireworks.
This first day of spring is a special feast day for Baha’is. We call it “Naw-Ruz” from the Persian Nowruz. Nowruz comes from Zoroastrianism, the early religion of Persia, now Iran. Traditionally Nowruz has been celebrated in Iran, and among culturally adjacent peoples, from ancient times. The Baha’i Faith arose in Persia during the 19th century.
That century was a time of great spiritual fermentation in Persia and elsewhere. In America, new denominations arose, such as the Latter-Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and others. In the Holy Land, a German Templer colony was established in 1868 at the foot of Mt. Carmel to await the second coming of Christ. That year Baha’u’llah, prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith and prisoner-exile of the Ottomans, also arrived. Baha’u’llah later visited the colony several times. I’ve seen the graven lintel above a doorway there: Der Herr ist nahe. “The Lord is near.” Today, rising above remnants of that colony, the Baha’i Gardens adorn the face of Mt. Carmel, with the administrative seat of the Baha’i International Community immediately adjacent.
“Why,” I’ve been asked, “would you choose to become a member of such a tiny minority?” My only response: “Because I believe it to be true.” In the United States, Baha’is are generally not persecuted. Some people look askance or roll their eyes upon learning I’m a Baha’i, but I’ve heard first-hand accounts of how, in Iran and other countries dominated by religious hierarchies, Baha’is have been marginalized, actively persecuted, and even killed for their beliefs.
Yet Baha’is are captivated by the vision we internalize. Just as we observe Naw-Ruz every spring, so also do our hopes spring eternal for a better world based on widely embraced spiritual values. Although forbidden by our faith to proselytize, we’re encouraged to share our teachings and ideas with others, as I’m doing here.
Happy Naw-Ruz!
Haug and Jolie, his editor and wife of 61 years, chat about these kinds of things regularly. Contact Pete at petes.pen9@gmail.com. His internet posts are at spokanefavs.com/author/peter-haug/
