A Baha’i inspired music and cultural performance group from the Pacific Islands, MANA, will perform at the Baha’i Centre in Canberra during celebrations to mark the Baha’i New Year holy day which occurs on 21 March.
In Brisbane the New Year celebrations, known as Naw Ruz, will include a spiritual introduction followed by musical entertainment and children’s activities.
A special service of prayers and singing will begin at the Baha’i House of Worship in Sydney at 11 am.
In smaller centres across the country, Baha’is will gather in homes or in halls for prayer, entertainment and fellowship.
Naw Ruz (literally “New Day”) is held on 21 March, but the celebrations, open to all, begin the evening before.
The festivities follow a 19 day fast in which adult Baha’is have abstained from food and drink between sunrise and sunset.
It is a period of prayer, meditation and spiritual recuperation, with fasting being a reminder of the need for individuals to be detached from their material desires.
Naw Ruz is the first day of the year in the Baha’i calendar.
It coincides with the ancient Persian Naw Ruz festival marking the vernal equinox, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.