Festival of Ridván

I can’t get my hands on any engaging books on the Bahá’í faith. There are some stories that point out it exists (okaaay) and didactic stories with painful rhyming, but the Earthquakes do a hard NOPE to that sort of story.

Ridván is a (the?) most significant holiday of the Bahá’í year, but I still haven’t found a good resource to help non-practicing kids understand why it’s important. So let’s explore videos.

For older kids (maybe 10+), here’s a primer and brief introduction to the Bahá’í faith (went too fast for my 8yo) and what is Bahá’í (went on too long and my kids lost interest).

If you have older kids (6+) who are already familiar with Bahá’í practices, this video on ‘What is Ridván‘ could work. But without a basic primer on the faith, it just left us newbies more confused. And this one, ‘The Baha’i Festival of Ridvan for children‘ is a close shot – but you’re gonna have to prepare kids to explain terms like ‘spiritual,’ ‘promised one,’ and ‘paradise.’

The Earthquakes are familiar with major world religions and what ‘religion’ is – but us secular folks can find a good intro book explaining the Bahai’i faith, we’re gonna have to settle for trying to explain it in our own words. Worth noting that while kids books on Bahá’í festivals exist – I can’t find any that are published by mainstream publishers, which essentially bans them from libraries and schools.

Read

Still searching for decent books on people of the Bahá’í faith. While none of them are explicit, it’s worth checking out stories about our first Bahá’í Astronaut, Ronald McNair, in Ron’s Big Mission.

There’s also a book I haven’t been able to get my hands on Warrior Grandma, about Bahá’í Lakota educator Patricia Locke. If you’ve read it, please do tell us your thoughts!

When is it?

• Begins at sunset on the 13th day of the Bahá’í month of Jalál, and lasts 12 days
• The start usually falls on April 20-21 on the Gregorian calendar.

Parenting is Praxis: Guided Discussion

• Adults: Learn about gatekeeping in the publishing industry.
• Discuss with kids:
  • What religions have we learned about in books and TV?
  • Which religious festivals have we studied and talked about?
  • Which religions are easy to learn about at our local library?
  • Which religions are harder to find books and shows about?
  • Who chooses the books in our library? And how?
    (Hint: most libraries won’t purchase books unless they’re published by the big 4 or reviewed by mainstream media outlets – and alllll these organizations are run by folks who hold privileged identities so…)
  • Why are books on some religions and festivals hard, or impossible, to find?
  • How [does /would] it make you feel if your local library had tons of books on dominant religions, didn’t have any books about the traditions that center your core cultural and spiritual values?