Vaisakhi

Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi is Sikh new year festival and the birthday of its Khalsa Panth
Also called	Baisakhi, Vaisakhi, Khalsa Sirjana Divas.
Observed by	Sikhs, Hindus
Type	religious, cultural
Significance	Sikh New Year, Harvest festival, birth of the Khalsa
Celebrations	Parades and Nagar Kirtan, Fairs, Amrit Sanchaar (baptism) for new Khalsa
Observances	Prayers, processions, raising of the Nishan Sahib flag, Fairs.
2017 date	Thu, 13 April
2018 date	Fri, 13 April
2019 date	Sat, 13 April

Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ਵਿਸਾਖੀ, IAST: visākhī), also known as Baisakhi, Vaishakhi, or Vasakhi is a historical and religious festival in Sikhism. It is usually celebrated on April 13 or 14 every year. Vaisakhi marks the Sikh new year and commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. It is additionally a spring harvest festival for the Sikhs, that is also observed by the Hindus. A similarly spelled historic festival celebrated in Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Southeast Asia as the Buddha's birthday, is the festival of Vesakha, also known as Vesak. Considered the most important festival in Buddhism, Vesakha is celebrated in same Indian calendar month of Vaishakha, but typically falls a few weeks after the Sikh and Hindu Vaisakhi.

Vaisakhi observes major events in the history of Sikhism and the Indian subcontinent that happened in the Punjab region. The significance of Vaisakhi as a major Sikh festival marking the birth of Sikh order started after the persecution and execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur for refusing to convert to Islam under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. This triggered the coronation of the tenth Guru of Sikhism and the historic formation of Khalsa, both on the Vaisakhi day. Vaisakhi was also the day when colonial British empire officials committed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on a gathering, an event influential to the Indian movement against colonial rule.

On Vaisakhi, Gurdwaras are decorated and hold kirtans, Sikhs visit and bathe in lakes or rivers before visiting local Gurdwaras, community fairs and nagar kirtan processions are held, and people gather to socialize and share festive foods. For many Hindus, the festival is their traditional solar new year, a harvest festival, an occasion to bathe in sacred rivers such as Ganges, Jhelum and Kaveri, visit temples, meet friends and party over festive foods. This festival in Hinduism is known by various regional names.