Baisakhi is one of the major festivals of Sikhs and generally falls on April 13th or April 14th.
For the entire Sikh community, Baisakhi Festival has utmost religious significance as it was on a Baisakhi Day in 1699, that Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru laid the foundation of ‘Panth Khalsa-the Order of the Pure Ones’. Khalsa means ‘Pure’ and it’s the community of dedicated Sikh believers initiated through a special ceremony.
For the large farming community of Punjab, Baisakhi is Celebration time as it is time to harvest rabi crop. On Baisakhi, farmers thank god for the bountiful crop and pray for good times ahead.
People of Punjab celebrate the festival of Baisakhi with enthusiasm and devotion. They visit Gurdwara to pray. This is followed by a guru ka langar (community lunch) where food is cooked by the members of the community and served by members of the community, to all people at the Gurdwara. The idea is to demonstrate equality of all people, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, race.
Later they celebrate by doing joyful bhangra and gidda on the beats of the dhol.
Did you Know?
- Sikhism is the world’s 5th largest religion and it originated in India.
- Sikhs do not believe in fasting.
- Turbans are a mandatory part of Sikh faith.Don’t mistake it for a hat. It cannot be casually taken on and off. It must be carefully tied each time it is removed.
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