Rituals and Customs of Baisakhi

Farmers in the northern part of India celebrate the festival of Baisakhi and the celebrations of this festival can be enjoyed in Punjab and Haryana. It is a festival of harvest, as harvesting of Rabi crop occurs on this day and farmers thereby celebrate this day by performing several rituals and customs associated with it to thank God for high yield of crops. It is also said that in 1699 Guru Gobind Sing ji founded the Khalsa Panth on this day and therefore this day has a special place in the life of Sikhs.

There are some rituals and customs that are performed by people on the Baisakhi day. People generally wear new clothes on this day and perform folk dances, bhangra and gidda. There are special dresses that are worn by people to perform bhangra and gidda on Baisakhi, as it is the most integral part of Baisakhi celebrations.

The most important ritual of Baisakhi celebrations is to take a bath in the morning and visit Gurudwara. Sikhs try to visit Golden temple and Anandpur Sahib and these places face a large crowd during the festival of Baisakhi. For those who are not able to visit Golden temple and Anandpur Sahib can visit a nearby Gurudwara in their locality. People recite prayers in Gurudwara and all the devotees who visit Gurudwara are offered with langar that is a holy food.

In the evening on the Baisakhi day people take Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy book of Sikhs for a procession and the procession is accompanied by Panj Piyaras. Several Men, women and children are also a part of Baisakhi procession. The entire procession is marked with lot of excitement, as devotees sing religious songs and one can hear the sound of drums. The common lines that are recited by Sikhs in the procession are “Bole so nihal”, “Satnam Waheguru” and many other lines to remember God. The procession moves through various localities to spread happiness all around. These baisakhi processions start much before in Punjab.

So visit the northern part of India especially Punjab to witness the rituals and customs associated with Baisakhi.