New year heralds second bicentenary period

Sunset today marks the Baha’i new year, Naw-Ruz, which is being celebrated around the world, heralding an eagerly anticipated second historic bicentenary.

October 2019 will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the forerunner and herald of the Baha’i Faith, the Bab, whose dramatic ministry paved the way for the appearance of Baha’u’llah. On 29 and 30 October, Baha’is, together with their neighbors, families, and friends, will commemorate the births of these Twin Luminaries.

In the coming months, a new website will be launched as part of the Bahai.org family of sites to honor this bicentenary. The site, like the one launched a month before the first bicentenary in 2017, will unfold in stages, eventually including a film specially commissioned for the occasion as well as regular updates from celebrations around the Baha’i world.

In preparation for the coming bicentenary, a collection of 43 images associated with the life and mission of the Bab has been published online for the first time. Five aerial videos of the Shrine of the Bab and its vicinity were also published online. The collection can be found on the Baha’i Media Bank. The photos were added to sections about the Bab and His sacred Shrine. Also, three graphics for the coming bicentenary were added to a section about Baha’i Holy Day celebrations.