Punjabi New Year / Sikh (Nanakshahi)

Baisakhi Festival, also called Vaisakhi, holds great importance for the Sikh community and farmers of Punjab. Baisakhi falls on April 13 or 14, the first day of the year according to the Nanakshahi Calender. Sikhs also celebrate this day in honor of their tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Baisakhi commemorates the day when the Sikh Guru eliminated caste differences and founded Khalsa Panth in1689.

For the large farming community of Punjab and Haryana, Baisakhi marks the harvest time. Farmers celebrate it with immense fervor as they are loaded with cash at this time. Men and women run over the fields shouting “Jatta aayi Baisakhi”.