When is Baisakhi

Baisakhi is celebrated by people living in the northern parts of India. It is a harvest festival for them and New Year according to the Hindu Solar calendar. Baisakhi falls on the first day of Vaisakh month (April-May) according to Nanakshahi or Sikh Calendar. According to English calendar, the date of Baisakhi corresponds to April 13 every year and April 14 once in every 36 years. This difference in Baisakhi dates is due to the fact that day of Baisakhi is reckoned according to solar calendar and not the lunar calendar. For those belonging to the Sikh community, the occasion holds religious significance, apart from being merely a harvest festival. According to the legends, it was on the festival of Baisakhi, when their tenth and last Guru - Guru Gobind Singh - called upon the Sikhs to sacrifice themselves for their community. On the same day, Khalsa was formed. Go through the following lines to know more about Baisakhi.

On Baisakhi, Guru Gobind Singh established Khalsa for the Sikhs, thereby eliminating the differences between the high and the low within the community. Thereafter, Guru Granth Sahib is regarded as the Holy Book of Sikh. On the day, a procession of Sikh devotees heads towards the nearest Gurudwara, to offer prayers. The procession is entertained by enthralling dance performances of Gidda and Bhangra. The celebration culminates by a grand community lunch - langar - in the premises of Gurudwara.

For the farmers in the northern part of India, Baisakhi is a day to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. It is a fun filled day for them, when they offer prayers and extend their gratitude to Mother Nature for blessing them with good crop. Through the celebrations, they expect the following season to be as fruitful as the previous one. For the purpose, they gather in groups and indulge themselves in merry making. They dance amidst the blossoming flowers and harvested grain. On Baisakhi every year, the air is filled with festivity in the northern states of India. This year (2018), the festival will be celebrated on Saturday Apr 14.

Baisakhi 2018: Saturday Apr 14.