Sikhism · Hinduism

Vaisakhi

When is Vaisakhi in 2027, the Sikh festival of the founding of the Khalsa in 1699 and the Punjabi harvest festival: its story, the nagar kirtan processions and how it is celebrated.

Next date

Wednesday, 14 April 2027

In brief

I.Vaisakhi, also Baisakhi, is the spring harvest festival of Punjab.
II.For Sikhs it marks the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
III.Gurdwaras hold special services, and processions called nagar kirtan fill the streets.
IV.Many Sikhs choose this day to be initiated into the Khalsa.

Chapter I

What it celebrates

On Vaisakhi in 1699, at Anandpur, Guru Gobind Singh asked the assembled Sikhs who would give their life for their faith. Five men came forward one by one. The Guru initiated them with amrit Sweetened water stirred with a double-edged sword, used in the Khalsa initiation. Glossary, sweetened water stirred with a double-edged sword, creating the Khalsa The community of initiated Sikhs, founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Glossary, a community of the committed, and then asked them to initiate him.

The day is also the harvest festival of Punjab, when the wheat is ready to be gathered.

Chapter II

How it is kept

Sikhs visit gurdwaras for prayers and readings from the Guru Granth Sahib, and the flagpole of the Nishan Sahib is washed and given a new cloth. Nagar kirtan processions, led by five Sikhs representing the Panj Pyare, carry the scripture through the streets with singing and martial arts displays. Free meals are served to everyone, and in Punjab farmers dance bhangra.

Chapter III

Around the world

The largest celebration is at Anandpur Sahib and the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Nagar kirtans in Surrey, British Columbia, and in Southall and Birmingham in England draw hundreds of thousands of people.

Questions people ask

Who were the Panj Pyare?

The “five beloved ones”, the five Sikhs who offered their heads when Guru Gobind Singh asked for volunteers at Anandpur in 1699. They were the first to be initiated into the Khalsa.

Is Vaisakhi only Sikh?

No. It is also a harvest and new year festival for Hindus in Punjab and other regions of India, under various names.

Sources and further reading

Toronto Metropolitan University, “2027 Calendar of Religious, Indigenous and Spiritual Observances”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Baisakhi”
W. Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi, The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Sussex Academic Press, 2nd ed. 1995)

← All festivals · ↑ Back to top