Baisakhi Customs and Traditions

Baisakhi is celebrated with energy and verve during the harvest season in mid April every year. It is a festival of the Sikh community of India and across the world. Although the term Baisakhi comes from Vaisakhi which has been derived from the word Vaishakh, a month of the Hindu calender. Indians of other regions and cultures too celebrate a harvest festival but they call it Vaisakhi. The basis of the two occasions, though, differs. Here are the various traditions and customs of Baisakhi.

Gurdwara Rituals
People of Sikh faith wake up early in the morning on Baisakhi day and visit gurdwaras to attend special prayer meetings. At the gurdwara, Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs is taken out ceremoniously and given a bath with milk and water and placed on its throne. The book is then read out to the followers gathered in the gurdwara.

After chanting of the sacred verses, amrit or holy nectar is prepared in an iron vessel and distributed amongst all gathered. Devotees sip amrit five times with a vow to work for the brotherhood, the Khalsa Panth, after which kirtans are sung by the people gathered.

At noon, after the Baisakhi ardas, the Karah Prasad or sweetened semolina is offered to the guru for his blessings. It is then distributed to the congregation. The ceremony culminates with a special guru-ka-langar or the community lunch.

Baisakhi Processions
Processions are held in which Guru Granth Sahib is taken out in a procession. At the head of the procession are the Panj Piaras (symbolize the journey made by the five fearless devotees from their homes to Anandpur, to be baptised by Guru Gobind Singh). The procession moves through the city to be welcomed by citizens and members of social and cultural societies. Colourful bhangra and gidda dance and mock duels are performed during Baisakhi processions.

Men wear the headgear (bana) of Guru Nanak and also of Guru Gobind Singh. In their discourse at the end of the ceremony, Sikh religious leaders express the need to promote charity by people of all ages.

Other Festivities
"Jatta aai Baisakhi". Baisakhi is New Year’s for the large farming community of Punjab and Haryana. It is also the time to harvest the rabi crop. Buying and wearing new clothes, singing and dancing to festive tunes are all a part of Baisakhi celebrations. In rural areas of Punjab, Baisakhi fairs are organised where many recreational activities are held among which wrestling bouts are a major attraction.