What a bounty to have days set aside in the year for hospitality and the giving of gifts! A few personal thoughts on the matter:
If we think of humanity as one organic entity, similar to the human body, with each cell representing an individual and all of us working together for the smooth functioning of the whole, we realize that the welfare of each person lies in the welfare of the body of humanity. We also start to see that if one person is very kind and generous and gives everything they have for the joy and gladness of others, in the final analysis they are benefiting themselves too, as if the body is healthy then each member is at peace. To get comfortable with this concept one needs to unlearn some of the ideas that we have inherited from the culture of individualism to which we are constantly exposed.
So, what does it mean to have certain days of the year dedicated to feasting, rejoicing, charity, hospitality and the giving of gifts? To “provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy…”?
Our normal mode of operation should be to be generous and sacrificial, but to me this doesn’t include regular giving of material “gifts”. Sure, one should give of whatever material goods we may have to those who need them, but to me these are not so much “gifts” but a natural expression of our concern for others and belief in the oneness of humanity. And in many cases, more important than any giving of goods is the providing of services to others and the uplifting of their spirits.
So on these days, one would have a special sanction for the giving of material goods, as a symbol of the spiritual act and for the sake of God. Also, we would give to all in our social circle, not just to the poor and needy. This is because we are giving not only for the sake of the recipient, but also as an element of our belief in God and in following His laws and Most Holy Book. And since we are sharing these physical objects for the sake of God we would make effort to present them in the most beautiful manner, so the wrapping of presents also has spiritual significance.
In the larger scheme of things, we have individuals exchanging material goods, feasting and spreading joy; therefore each of them are contributing to improving the health of the body of humanity. Each organ of the body is resuscitated, has a boost of energy. Maybe we could think of it as taking vitamins? Or as a release of adrenaline?
And, this burst of social energy and of individual upliftment which we get from giving, sets us on course for the season of restraint that is to follow.
selected writings about Ayyám-i-Há.Prayer for Ayyám-i-Há
My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Ha, Intercalary days) in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.
These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee.
Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.
I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds.
Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.