How Baisakhi Festival is celebrated in India?

Baisakhi is a festival of harvest celebrated by the Sikh community of India. It also indicates the merriment of the beginning of new solar year as well as the new harvest season also. It is one of the most significant festivals of Sikhs and they consider this day as the commencement of the Sikh New Year. Read on to know about the significance and celebration of the festival.

On this auspicious day of Baisakhi many people, besides Sikhs visit Gurudwara, the place of worship for Sikhs. They bring flowers and offerings and visit the temples and Gurudwara before dawn. Baisakhi usually falls on April 13 or April 14. There is a holiday in the state of Punjab on that day.

Importance of Baisakhi

Baisakhi is celebrated because it is on this day that the “Khalsa Panth” was established. It is considered as the community of the pure ones and was started on the day of Baisakhi by the last Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh. Long before that, the third Guru of the Sikhs had started celebrating Baisakhi as a special festival of Sikh Community.

How Baisakhi is celebrated

Whatever the history says, today Baisakhi is celebrated with all pomp and show. The Sikhs, rural and urban celebrate this festival with full enthusiasm and vigour. It is a social festival and involves lot of religious activities also. The main part is dancing, eating, enjoying and merry making. They wear colourful dresses and perform their special dance form called Bhangra, which depicts full energy and passion.

In the rural areas, it is the time for the farmers to enjoy their fruits of hard work and so is a remarkable occasion. They have all the rights to enjoy and have the benefits of their whole year's extreme hard work. In fact the entire North India celebrates this day and people visit their near and dear ones also. Nowadays people give and take gifts on Baisakhi and show their love and care to friends and relatives.

Traditionally, there used to be 'Baisakhi Mela' which means a carnival and this is still followed in many villages in Punjab. There are plenty of things to enjoy including different types of swings, tasty and spicy food items and dance performances as well. This festival is celebrated with family and those who stay away from their families try to reach their homes to enjoy the happiness and heartiness of the occasion.

It always makes one feel happy and contented to show love, care and respect to their family members and friends. On the other hand the recipient feels that he or she is very special in the eyes of his family. The main reason behind sending and receiving gifts is to express love. Today, if you are unable to reach your hometown on this auspicious occasion, you can send gifts so that your loved ones get a little relief, as they will miss you on this occasion.

The Baisakhi Mela has its own significance and it helps people meet and congregate at least on this occasion. It provides a platform where people can meet forgetting the rivalry, if any, and enjoy the fruits of harvest together.

Besides the Sikh community, Bengalis mark it as New Year’s Day or Nava Varsha and this day has also great significance in Buddhism. In Buddhist faith, it is believed that Lord Buddha attained enlightenment on this very day. The reasons are many but the celebration is only related to eating, dancing and merry making along with thanks giving to God.