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Management and Planning


The holy day committee in larger communities may consist of c. 6 people whose role includes managing human resources and calling on volunteer task force members for each of the seven holy days they are managing and planning.


Holy days are planned by individuals and/or committees who follow guidelines from administrative bodies and from the Sacred Writings. These guidelines include the role and function of the holy day committee.

Terms of Reference

Project Management

Checklist for Each Holy Day Event

  1. Reminders
  2. Event Result Tracking


  1. Human Resources
    1. Administrative bodies that provide guidelines and oversee budgets
    2. Committees appointed by administrative bodies (c. 6 people in communities larger than 100)
    3. MC 1 or 2 people at each holy day
    4. Stage manager: an individual who can graciously adapt the program at the last minute using human resources available if readers and presenters have not arrived 15 minutes before beginning of program. The stage manager ensures everyone is ready to be in front/near the microphone or on the stage at the right time. The stage manager and the MC’s should have the final program at least two weeks before the event.
    5. Is it possible to use a task force for individual holy days of 2-3 people to prepare specific programs in consultation with committee? Committee decides length of holy day, length of program and social
    6. Integration of the arts
      1. Striving for excellence versus demanding perfection
      2. How can we incorporate the arts in a highly diverse community without losing artists and/or audience?
      3. Musicians choirs, children, For some reflections on How can we incorporate the arts in a highly diverse community without losing artists and/or audience?
      4. Drama and dance: performances by local or guest performers as individuals and/or groups and/or facilitators of children and youth invited at least 2 months prior to event with a clear description of location (re: appropriate staging, light, sound for visibility and acoustics). Facilitators could be paid as well as volunteer. This would be an excellent way to integrate project-based, theme-based dance and drama that might interest youth.
      5. Visual artists: large decorative panels prepared well in advance of events with material supplied by local community (created individually or with groups of children and youth facilitated by a artists); decorative background materials, photography displays; illustrated programs, prayers, readings as handouts, bookmarks, slideshow images and background images (including images that reflect the people in the local, national and global community); There was discussion at the April 28 Feast of a potential group quilt-making project.
    7. Readers: children, adults and/or youth who read or recite with clear voices capable of conveying spiritual message. One holy day committee suggested limiting the number of languages represented to three, alternating with different holy day events. Others have no limits and encourage a “myriad of mystic voices”.
  1. Material Resources
    1. Materials Inventory
      1. Decor
        1. Furnishings
        2. Flowers: vases, stands,
      2. Refreshments
        1. Plates, cups, cutlery, napkins, table cloths, serving dishes, serving trays (Baha’is are currently being asked to consider our ecological footprint at the community level. Taking all things into consideration: the need for a dignified, spiritual ambiance, community financial constraints, need for realistic expectations in terms of clean-up, unspoken but very loud messages conveyed through use of enviromentaly very unfriendly materials, (styrofoam, most plastics) . . . what are the real costs and benefits?
      3. Audio-visual: Technical
    1. Budget
    2. Rental outlets
    3. Rental halls
  1. List of holy days

    1. Naw-Ruz
    2. Ridvan
      1. First day of Ridvan
      2. Ninth day of Ridvan
      3. 12th day of Ridvan
    3. Declaration of the Báb
    4. Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
    5. Martyrdom of the Báb
    6. Birth of Bahá’u’lláh


Resources for Enhancing Holy Day Programs

Multimedia Online Resources

  1. This page summarizes services and provides examples of resources available on the official Baha’i Media Resources This is a separate site hosted by the official site of the Baha’i International Community
  4. Prayers with images for general use This is a post on this blog which includes PowerPoint Presentations by non-professionals
  5. Creative Commons Images that might be useful in holy day celebrations

Tablets and Texts Associated with Specific Holy Days

Ocean, a searchable database of the Writings provides a rich resource for the preparation of holy day events. Gradually this blog will link these Writings to bookmarks in specific pages of official sites that host full-text Writings on-line.

  1. Tajaliyat (Effulgences)
  2. The Divine Springtime is Come Ridvan, Naw-Ruz
  3. Ridvan Writings

Programs from the Archives Used at Holy Day celebrations in Past Years

  1. Ridvan 2008 draft
  2. First Day of Ridvan
  3. First Day of Ridvan 2005
  4. Ninth Day of Ridvan
  5. Twelfth Day of Ridvan 2005
  6. Twelfth Day of Ridvan

Historical Accounts, Backgrounds and Timelines Useful in Preparing Introductions and Stories about Specific Holy Days

  1. The story of Ridvan (1863) Taherzadeh’s account
  2. Ridvan histories
  3. Chronology of Events Related to Ridvan

For your consideration

Prepare a Quality Program with Superior Musicians, Readers and Speakers

Music and the Arts: Striking a Chord and a Balance.”


Consultation: Thought Collisions.”


  1. Official sites
  2. Individual bloggers


Bibliography and Webliography

Semantic Web

Pages and Posts on WordPress

WordPress pages and posts serve different functions. Posts are found much more readily by search engines since authors of pages cannot use taxonomic devices such as tags and categories. WordPress pages are therefore not linked to the semantic web, the most intelligent, elegantly connected web.


Audio Visual Technician Budget checklist children Correspondence Decorations Event Result Tracking First day of Ridvan Floor Plans Flowers Food and Beverage Guidelines inclusive environment Installation/dismantle List of Appropriate Thematic Readings List of Appropriate Thematic Readings, Writings Logistics LSA LSA Liason MC Minutes Multimedia musicians Photos Radar Rentals readers readings Reminders Rental Equipment Locations Rentals: Decorations Rentals: Facilities Ridvan Ridvan 2007 room dividers Schedules Signage Speaker Surih of Patience Task Management Terms of reference Transportation Volunteer List Web Portal Welcome Writings


2 Comments leave one →
  1. Anonymous permalink
    September 3, 2011 4:01 pm

    Hi Maureen,

    I’m a Native American Baha’i writing the history of early Native Baha’is. I came across a reference attributed to you about Johnny Weetaluktuk an Inuit Bahai. I have a fairly good history on WIllie Ekoomiak, but was completely unaware of Johnny. I can’t find him anywhere on the web. Do you have any resources I could check to find out more about him. Or maybe you know the date he declared? Any help even the smallest of hints will help me move forward on this search.

    As a note of possible interest, I’ve started a Facebook group called “Early Native American Baha’is” where I’m posting photographs and biographical histories from the 1930’s to 1960 and asking for more information or corrections to what I’ve already posted. The response has been enormous and served to encourage me even more.

    Anyway, sorry to be so “long winded”
    Warmest regards,
    Paula Bidwell

    • January 21, 2012 11:09 pm

      It was Willie Ekoomiak who told me about Johnny Weetaluktuk. I am not sure about the details. Good luck with your research. Maureen

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