In Tampa Bay Online Michelle Bearden interviews Trisha Irons from Tampa Bay, Florida who shares her experiences during the Baha'i Fast from March 2-20.

Guest Contributor Candace Hill shares her experiences interacting with friends on Facebook during the Baha'i Fasting period in the blog Krista Tippett on Being

Now in its fourth year, the “nineteen days” website started as a collaborative project between Baha'i friends and fellow bloggers, Amy Youssefian Sahba and Leila G. T., as a creative way for them to share moments of their early mornings and evenings for the nineteen days of the Baha'i Fast.

Rothwell Polk shares in his blog from The Huffington Post reflections from Baha'is who have just started the fasting period [Mar 2-20]:

From March 2-20, Baha'is worldwide observe the annual fasting period by refraining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset.

When the sun rose on Monday, March 2, Baha’is throughout the world had taken their last bite of breakfast and their last sip of water for the day.

From March 2-20, Baha'is worldwide rise before dawn to eat breakfast, pray and then abstain from eating or drinking until sunset in observation of the annual 19-day Fast.

Last year, as a new Baha'i, I participated in my first Fast. I was a strange combination of nervous, excited, scared and exhilarated. In the midst of my hunger, I managed to keep up a public blog, attend a retreat at Green Acre Baha'i School, visit the Baha'i House of Worship near Chicago and, in the end, discover the real point of it all.

March 2-20 marks the Baha'i annual Fast, in which members of the Faith abstain from eating and drinking fromsunrise to sunset.

This article originally appeared in The Record, based in Stockton, California. Reprinted with permission.

For Cathy Yavrom, bad breath is sometimes a byproduct of fasting during the 19-day month leading up to the New Year in the Bahai Faith. The Baha'i New Year's Day is March 21, but New Year's celebrations begin the evening before because the Baha'i day begins at sunset.