When the sun rises on Sunday, March 2, Baha’is throughout the world will have taken their last bite of breakfast and their last sip of water for the day.

From March 2-20, Baha'is worldwide will 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.

From March 2-20, Baha'is worldwide observe the annual 19-day Fast by refraining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. As in many world religions, the Fast is a time for reflecting on one's spiritual progress and making an effort to detach from material desires.

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.