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Vaisakhi Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Vaisakhi facts for kids
Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ਵਿਸਾਖੀ, Hindi: बैसाखी vaisākhī (also known as Vishu or Baisakhi) is an important festival celebrated by Sikhs and Hindus. It is a very big celebration in South Asia and is celebrated around April 13.
Observance
Vaisakhi is the ancient harvest festival in the Punjab region. It is also the start of a new solar year, and new harvest season. Baisakhi is a Sikh religious festival. It falls on the first day of the Baisakh month in the solar calendar, which corresponds to April 13 in the Gregorian calendar. In Sikhism, it remembers the creation of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in 1699, by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
This day is also observed as the beginning of the Hindu solar new year celebrated by the people of Nepal and India in Assam Valley, Kerala, Orissa, West Bengal and some other regions of India. There are regional variation outside of Punjab too. In Himachal Pradesh, the Hindu Goddess Jwalamukhi is worshipped on Vaisakhi, while in Bihar, the Sun-god Surya is honoured.
Other observances
The festival is celebrated as
- Rongali Bihu in Assam,
- Naba Barsha or Pohela Boishakh in Bengal and Tripura, *Puthandu (Tamil New Year) in Tamil Nadu,
- Vishu (or Vaishakhi) in Kerala,
- Bikhu or Bikhauti in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand,
- Maha Vishuba Sankranti (or Pana Sankranti) in Orissa, and the
- Sinhalese New Year festival in Sri Lanka.
Calendars
Hinduism and Sikhism have several religious calendars. Some places of worship accept one version and others use a different version. So the festival will always fall on the same day in the western Gregorian calendar.
Images for kids
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Vaisakhi celebrations in the United Kingdom
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Two Sikh men celebrating Vaisakhi by giving away free sugarcane juice.
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Vaisakhi mela
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Bhangra dance on Vaisakhi is a Sikh tradition
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Bathing in rivers is a Vaisakhi tradition.
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Celebrating Baisakhi Bihu in Assam.
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Some Hindus mark their traditional new year with fireworks.
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A Vishukkani tray before Krishna (Vishnu), a Kerala Hindu tradition
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Festive Bihu with Dhuliya is an Assamese Hindu tradition on this day.
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Pohela Boishakh celebrations in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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Vaisakhi fair in Canada
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Dhol Bhangra players at Vasakhi in England
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A band performs at Vaisakhi day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur (2013).
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A depiction of Guru Gobind Singh initiating the first five members of the Khalsa
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Guru Gobind Singh creating the Khalsa
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The Panj Pyare at Vaisakhi 2007 Wolverhampton, UK
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2009 Vancouver Sikh Vaisakhi parade
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Sikh Motorcycle Club at Vaisakhi 2007 Vancouver, Canada
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Vaisakhi at Trafalgar Square, London
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Vaisakhi 2012 at Trafalgar Square, London
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Vaisakhi 2012 at Trafalgar Square, London
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Jalebiyan being served at Vaisakhi Day, April 11, 2009, Vancouver Canada