Vaisakhi (also spelled Baisakhi), usually falls on the 13th or 14th of April in the Gregorian calendar, is a festival celebrated across northern India to commemorate the harvest season and the birth of the Khalsa. It is celebrated with great fervour by the Sikh community in India and by the Sikh diaspora around the world.

This day is also observed as the Thanksgiving day by the farmers whereby they pay tribute to and thank God for the abundant harvest, and while praying future prosperity. The festival holds great significance for Sikhs due of the fact that on the day of Vaisakhi in the year 1699, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh laid down the foundation of the Panth Khalsa, the Order of the Pure Ones. The Guru also gave the Khalsa a unique identity with five distinctive symbols of purity and courage, known today as the 5 K’s: Kesh (uncut hair), Kara (steel bracelet), Kangha (wooden comb), Kachera (cotton underwear), and Kirpan (steel sword).

For more information about Vaisakhi, come and visit our new display at the Asian Centre foyer! The display will be on until the end of April.