History of Baisakhi
Baisakhi is New Year’s Day in Punjab. It falls on the month of Vaisakh. This festival marks the ripening of the Rabi harvest. The day coincides with the solar equinox on the13th of April.
It was, on this day that the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa (the Sikh brotherhood) in 1699. For Sikhs, this is as a collective birthday. It is celebrated on April 13, though once in 36 years, it occurs on 14th April.
On the auspicious day of Baisakhi, the farming community thanks God for the gone by wonderful rabi crop harvest season and prays for a more bountiful season ahead. For the Sikh community, the occasion of Baisakhi is even more special and momentous. The holy festival of Baisakhi celebrates the birth of Khalsa.
It was on this day, the Khalsa sect of Sikhism took birth. Khalsa, a collective body of all initiated Sikhs, was established at Kesgarh in Anandpur Sahib, by the 10th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh in the year 1699.
On this day, prayer meetings are organized in gurdwaras across the country. People visit gurdwaras and listen to kirtans (religious songs) and discourses. The holy scriptures known as the Grantha are read, and the book is then carried in a procession led by five leaders of the congregation, carrying drawn swords.
The traditional folk dances of Punjab, called the Gidda and Bhangra, are performed with great enthusiasm. Processions include mock duels and bands playing religious tunes.
The celebrations of Baisakhi are similar to the three-day schedule of the celebrations of other Gurpurab’s.
Blossom Inc wishes all their customers, partners, system integrators and resellers “Happy Baisakhi”
