Celebration Date of Celebration: April 13, 2008  Save as Bookmark  Send this Page to Friend. Baisakhi Home   Baisakhi Wallpapers   Baisakhi Celebrations   Baisakhi Greetings   Baisakhi History   Baisakhi Recipes   Regional Celebrations   Baisakhi is a mega event, a religious festival, harvest festival and new year's day all rolled into one. In fact this day is celebrated all over the country as new year day under different names. It is also the time when the harvest is ready to cut and store or sell. For the Sikh community Baisakhi has a very special meaning. It was on this day that the last Guru Gobind Singh organised the sikhs into Khalsa or the pure ones. By doing so, he eliminated the differences of high and low and established that all human beings were equal. Sikhs visits gurdwaras (Sikh temples) and listen to kirtans (religious songs) and discourses. After the prayer, kada prasad (sweetened semolina) is served to the congregation. In honor the "Beloved Five," a series of parades are held, in which sets of five men walk in front of the holy book with swords drawn. The function ends with langar, the community lunch served by volunteers. With no particular religious nuance, Hindus and Sikhs celebrate in a community sort of way - folk dances, music and a feeling of camaraderie underline these celebrations.     Fairs are organized at various places in Punjab, where besides other recreational activities, wrestling bouts are also held. The occasion is celebrated with great gusto at Talwandi Sabo, where Guru Gobind Singh stayed for nine months and completed the recompilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.     Traditionally, the festival was celebrated as the harbinger of happiness and plenty being closely connected with harvesting. Punjab being a predominantly agricultural state that prides itself on its foodgrain production, its most significant festival is Baisakhi, which marks the arrival of the harvesting season. The word Baisakhi is derived from the month of Vaisakha (April-May), a time when the farmer returns home with his bumper crop, the fruit of his whole year’s hard labour. Cries of “Jatta aai Baisakhi” rent the skies as the people of Punjab attired in their best clothes break into the Bhangra dance to express their joy. The dancers and drummers challenge each other to continue the dance. The scenes of sowing, harvesting, winnowing and gathering of crops are expressed through zestful movements of the body to the accompaniment of ballads.