| Legend |

The Sikhs, therefore, celebrate this festival as a collective birthday.

Baisakhi is derived from Vaishakha. After harvesting the winter crop, the farmers of the northern states of Punjab and Haryana celebrate the beginning of another year.

There is boisterous dancing and loud joyous singing as the traditional folk dances of Punjab, called the Gidda and Bhangra, are performed. People collect in the evening around a bonfire to celebrate the harvest.

Celebrations: To pay tribute to this event, prayer meetings are organized in gurdwaras across the country. The main celebration however, takes place in the gurdwara at Anandpur Sahib, where the order was formed.

At about 4 o'clock in the morning, the Guru Grantha Sahib is ceremonially taken out from its resting chambers. After a symbolic bath with milk and water, it is placed on its throne. Priests called the Panch Pyare then chant the verses called the Panch Bani.

At noon, after the ardas, the Karah Prasad is offered to the guru for his blessings. It is then distributed to the congregation. They eat the prasad, before proceeding to participate in the guru ka langar.

Believers perform kar seva. Shabads and kirtans are sung all daylong to honor Guru Govind Singh and the beloved five, the founders of the Khalsa Panth.

For Hindus, it's the start of the new year, and is celebrated with requisite bathing, partying, and worshipping. It's believed that the goddess Ganga descended to earth thousands of years ago, and in her honor many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths.

In Kerala the festival is called Vishu, and includes fireworks, shopping for new clothes and interesting displays called Vishu Kani. These are arrangements of flowers, grains, fruits, cloth, gold, and money and are viewed early in the morning, to ensure a year of prosperity.