Baisakhi
Baisakhi is the major festival of Sikhs. It is celebrated with lot of enthusiasm in the state of Punjab. Baisakhi marks the beginning of the solar year.Baisakhi is a harvest festival when the rabi crop is ready for harvesting. Baisakhi is celebrated on the 13th or 14th April according to the solar calendar. The celebrations of Baisakhi are similar to the three-day schedule of the celebrations of other Gurpurabs. It is celebrated in North India, particularly in Punjab and Haryana.
Guru Amar Das had first institutionalized Baisakhi in 1567 as one of the special days when all Sikhs would gather to receive the guru's blessings at Goindwal. On this day in 1699, their tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, organized the order of the Khalsa. He discontinued the tradition of Gurus in Sikhism by declaring the Granth Sahib to be the eternal Guru of all Sikhs. Guru Arjan Dev was martyred by the Muslim rulers who, in barbaric cruelty, threw him alive into a cauldron of boiling oil, on this day.
In the early morning of the Baisakhi festival people take dip in holy rivers and visit gurudwara where kirtans are held, listen to recitations from Guru Granth Sahib and kada prasad is distributed. People perform physical labour to help in the daily chores of the gurudwara which is called Kar Sewa. Children are thought to perform acts of charity and children and youth demonstrate their skills in martial arts to the accompaniment of musical bands. Both men and women, celebrate the day with Bhangra and Gidda. Fairs are organized at various places in Punjab, where besides other recreational activities, wrestling bouts are also held.
Vasant Panchmi :: Baisakhi :: Buddha Purnima :: Cristmas :: Desert Festival :: Diwali :: Dussehra :: Easter :: Ganesh Chaturti :: Gangaur :: Good Friday : :Gurupurab :: Holi :: Id-Ui-Fitr :: Id-Ul-Zuha :: Janmashtami :: Kumbh Mela :: Muharram :: Nagaur Fair :: Navratri :: Onam :: Pushkar Fair :: Ram Navami ::Shivaratri :: Teej :: Vishu