It is interesting to note that the early believers in the
East during the days of Bahá'u'lláh and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá never celebrated their own
birthdays. They considered that such an act would imply self-glorification, a
means of boosting one's ego. It never crossed their minds that a certain day
was their birthday. So real and genuine was this attitude that a great many
individuals did not know the exact date of their birth. In the absence of birth
certificates, some parents would record the date of the birth of their children
in a certain book, much as Westerners used the family Bible for the same
purpose. Even then an individual would be deeply insulted if someone wanted to
celebrate his birthday, [1] for the only persons whose birthday merited
celebration were the Prophets and Chosen Ones of God. Instead of celebrating
birthdays, however, these people held regular annual memorial meetings,
inviting their friends to join in remembering one of their loved ones who had
passed away. In such a meeting, they prayed for the progress of his soul,
recounted his services to the Cause, described his qualities, recited Tablets
revealed in his honour, if any, and offered charitable donations on his behalf.
This practice of annual remembrance of the departed, which is not a binding
obligation in the Bahá'í Faith, is now followed by many Bahá'í families. The
organisation of such meetings is not usually the responsibility of the
institutions of the Faith. They are arranged by individuals on the
anniversaries of the passing of their loved ones.
(Adib Taherzadeh, ‘The Covenant of Baha'u'llah’)
(Adib Taherzadeh, ‘The Covenant of Baha'u'llah’)
[1] It must be noted that there is nothing in the Bahá'í writings either to
condemn the celebration of one's birthday or to encourage it. (Adib
Taherzadeh, ‘The Covenant of Baha'u'llah’)
