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4.) It is not used as the primary calendar in any existing nation. This simple fact has consequences. In practice, few Baha'is are familiar with the details of the Baha'i calendar. For the most part, Baha'is rely upon the local civil calendar, which has practical consequences. Most Baha'is live either in the West, where the Gregorian calendar is accepted, or in countries of the Middle East, where the Islamic calendar is accepted. Because the Baha'i calendar ties its days of observance to local calendars, in practice, the Baha'i calendar exists in two forms: one Islamic, the other Gregorian. |
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In the West, in fact, the Baha'i calendar is explicitly tied to the Gregorian calendar. This bond extends to exact date equivalence and, necessarily, the leap year rule. In this respect, the Baha'i calendar is a completely captive calendar, which makes it unique. |
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As a consequence of the existence of the two forms of calendar, commemorations of holy days may be observed on the basis of a lunar year, a solar year, both, or neither. The celebration of Naw Ruz, for example, is stipulated to be the day of the vernal equinox. In North America, however, the Gregorian calendar is used, and the date is fixed as 21 March in the Gregorian calendar, regardless of whether the actual vernal equinox occurs on that day or not. In Iran, however, Baha'i Naw Ruz is observed by the actual vernal equinox. One consequence of this variation in rules is that the intercalary period, Ayyam-i-Ha, can have different lengths in the West and Iran. |
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The dates of the declaration and martyrdom of the Bab are celebrated in Muslim countries according to the Islamic calendar but by fixed dates in the Gregorian calendar. |
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More interestingly, Baha'Ullah declared that the birth dates of himself and the Bab were "twin Holy Days". This statement only makes sense within the context of the Islamic calendar, because the two dates of 20 October 1819 and 12 November 1817 fall on consecutive days in the Islamic calendar (1 Muharram 1235 A.H. and 2 Muharram 1233 A.H.). Thus, there exists at least one religious injunction to use the Islamic calendar for the purposes of calculation. On the other hand, the date of the Ascension of Baha'Ullah is always celebrated according to the solar calendar, even in Islamic countries. |
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5.) There are significant internal contradictions and unresolved problems remaining in the Baha'i calendar in its present form. It should be remembered that Baha'i authorities themselves recognize that the present calendar is in need of reform and perceive it as a stage in an evolutionary process. The following points are intended as specific clarification of certain problems from a calendric perspective. |
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5.1.) There is no standard format for representing dates in the Baha'i calendar. The Badi nomenclature and unit system has been neither specifically rejected or specifically accepted. In addition, national variations in date formatting are carried over into the Baha'i calendar. Finally, there is no accepted numerical representation for the Ayyam-i-Ha and, consequently, no standard method for representing the 19th month in a numerical format. The format used by SCDTL is reasonable and perhaps even necessary, but it is not a standard Baha'i format. |
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