Celebration
1. Which celebrations i.e. festival occasions – are important to the faith community.
2. How, when and where are these celebrations done?
3. Why are they important to the individual and the faith community?
4. What rituals occur.
5. What is distinctive about these celebrations?
Because Sikhism has strong historic and present day links with Hinduism and the Punjab region of India, the Hindu calendar is generally used to fix the Sikh festival year. Since people were already gathered together on these days, the Gurus decided to use these occasions to preach their message. Gurpurbs is the term to describe days connected with the lives of the Gurus but there are also melas. Melas A term for celebratory fairs in India(fairs) were traditional Hindu celebrations.
Gurpurbs:
- Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev JiThe founder of Sikhism (1469-1539) - November.
- Birthday of Guru Gobind SinghThe name given to all male Sikhs, literally meaning 'lion' Ji - 5th January.
- Martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev Ji - 16th June. In addition to Nagar keertan (street procession) and Akhand path (continuous reading of Guru Granth Sahib JiThe most widely used name for Sikh scriptures, literally 'Teacher Book, Sir'), Guru Arjun Dev Ji's martyrdom is commemorated by Sikhs having stalls offering free drinks to passers-by. This recalls the original events when Guru Hargobind Ji offered the Sikhs sweet drinks to calm down after the execution of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the first Sikh martyr.
- Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji - 24th November.
Melas:
- BaisakhiThe Sikh spring festival - 14 April - birth of the KhalsaLiterally the pure ones, referring to the family or brotherhood of initiated Sikhs
- Hola MohallaAn early spring Sikh festival
- Diwali Hindu, Jain and Sikh autumn festival of lights- October/November - release of Guru Hargobind Ji as a prisoner of conscience
The birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji marks the beginning of the religion, although the reverence of the Naam that he promotes goes back to the "first breath". The birth of Guru Gobind Singh Ji is the birth of the last human Guru and Baisakhi is the birth of the Khalsa, which is the Sikh community but also the living Guru, the Guru Khalsa. Two of the Gurus were martyred and those dates are marked as is the date when one of the Gurus was released from prison. Hola Mohalla is an event that is a celebration of martial arts skill.
There are akhand paths which are the continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Sikhs try to attend the gurdwaraThe Sikh place of worship literally meaning the Guru's door during this period with the final day of the meeting falling on the day of the festival.
Different hymns are sung on the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji and the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. In addition, Guru Arjun Dev Ji's martyrdom is accompanied by the distribution of free drinks to mark the event following the original occasion when free drinks were given to soothe the pain and anguish of the Sikhs. Baisakhi is marked by amritIn Sikhism referring to an ambrosia or nectar mixture of sugar and water used in ceremonies ceremonies as it is the most popular time of year for people to join the Khalsa. Hola Mohalla is marked by martial arts competitions and Diwali is celebrated with fireworks.
Websites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/sikhism/baisakhi.shtml
http://www.singhsabhacanada.com
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