Spring is officially here, and with it, a host of key events celebrating the season — including Vaisakhi festival. One of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar, it's also one of the most colourful and vibrant religious festivals around the world. Here's everything you need to know about it:
Vaisakhi — also known as Baisakhi — is a spring festival that takes place on the 13th or 14th of April every year, and is one of the key celebrations for those of the Sikh faith, the world's fifth-largest monotheistic religion, founded over 500 years ago in the Punjab region of South Asia.
The festival celebrates the date 1699, which is the year that Sikhism and the Khalsa (more on that below) was founded as a faith by Guru Gobind Singh.
There are stereotypes around South Asian women being oppressed, passive and not having a voice.
A short history lesson for any of you who are out of the loop. Back in 1699, the local festival of Vaisakhi was already being honoured as a standard harvest celebration, and it brought about Sikhs from all over the Punjab area — this included Guru Gobind Singh, who came out of a tent carrying a sword, asking anyone who was prepared to give their life for their religion to step forward. No pressure.
One volunteer comes forward, enters the tent and doesn't reappear. Guru Singh, however, reappears, covered in blood, requesting another volunteer. This same scenario happens until five men have entered the tent. Everyone thinks they have died, until the five men reappear, alive and wearing turbans. These five men became known as the Panj Piare, or the ‘Beloved Five’. They're baptised by Guru Gobind Singh, who sprinkled them with Amrit, which is the Sikh word for holy water, and became the first members of what's known as the Khalsa, a community of ‘soldier-saints’.
This event coincided with the establishment of the Five Ks by Guru Gobind Singh — the Khalsa were required to wear five physical symbols: Kesh (unshorn hair), Kangha (comb), Karha (steel bracelet), Kirpan (sword), and Kachehra (cotton undergarment. This historic event helped to create a separate, Sikh egalitarian identity that was free from traditional, oppressive caste systems.
On the 13th or 14th of April every year, Sikhs typically go to Gurdwara — a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, meaning "place of guru" or "home of guru — in the morning for service.
Following the service, there's a procession through the streets referred to as the ‘Nagar Kirtan’, where everyone wears lots of bright, colourful clothes. 'Nagar' means town and 'kirtan' means the singing of hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the Sikh holy book.
Then, in the evening, the best bit — Sikhs have a special meal with family and friends, enjoying dishes such as Meethe Chawal (sweet saffron rice), Kadhi Pakora, Chole Bhature, Sarson ka Saag with Makki ki Roti, and sweets like Kada Prasad, Phirni, and Jaggery. Sounds absolutely delicious.
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