|
Bandi Chhor Divas
Bandi Chhor Divas ( Punjabi: ਬੰਦੀ ਛੋੜ ਦਿਵਸ ; meaning) is a Sikh celebration that commemorates the day the sixth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind released 52 prisoners from Gwalior Fort, who had been imprisoned by Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Emperor Jahangir had held 52 prisioners at the Gwalior Fort for several months. Gurdwara Data Bandi Chhor Sahib, is located at the place of the Gurus internment in the Fort. The day falls in autumn and often overlaps with Hindu Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated across Punjab. Historically, from the time of the third Sikh Guru Amar Das, Sikhs and Hindus of the time used the occasion of Diwali, Vaisakhi and other such festivals to congregate at the seat of the Gurus., Quote: "Since the time of Guru Amar Das it has been customary for Sikhs to assemble before their Guru on three of the most important Hindu festival occasions - Vaisakhi, Divali and Maha Shivaratri". In the late 20th century, Sikh religious leaders and the Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' has its origin in the word ' (), meaning 'disciple' or 'student'. Male Sikhs generally have ''Singh'' ('lion'/'tiger') as their last name, though not all Singhs are necessarily Sikhs; likewise, female Sikhs have ''Kaur'' ('princess') as their last name. These unique last names were given by the Gurus to allow Sikhs to stand out and also as an act of defiance to India's caste system, which the Gurus were always against. Sikhs strongly believe in the idea of "Sarbat Da Bhala" - "Welfare of all" and are often seen on the frontline to provide humanitarian aid across the world. Sikhs who have undergone the ''Amrit Sanchar'' ('baptism by Khanda'), an initiation ceremony, are from the day of their initiation known as Khalsa, and they m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance. Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations. The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job held or personal choices. The concept of holidays often originated in connection with religious observances or associated with traditions. The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar. In most modern societies, however, holidays serve as much of a recreational functions as any other weekend days or activities. In many societies, there are important distinctions between holidays designated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru Nanak Gurpurab
Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab also known as Guru Nanak's Prakash Utsav, celebrates the birth of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak. One of the most celebrated and important Sikh gurus and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev is highly revered by the Sikh community. This is one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism, or Sikhi. The festivities in the Sikh religion revolve around the anniversaries of the 10 Sikh Gurus. These Gurus were responsible for shaping the beliefs of the Sikhs. Their birthdays, known as ''Gurpurab,'' are occasions for celebration and prayer among the Sikhs. Background Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born on Puranmashi of Kattak in 1469, according to the Vikram Samvat calendar in Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi in the present Shekhupura District of Pakistan, now Nankana Sahib. It is a Gazetted holiday in India. According to the controversial Bhai Bala Janamsakhi, it claims Guru Nanak was born on the Full Moon ( Pooranmashi) of the Indian Lunar Month Kartik. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hola Mohalla
Hola Mohalla (Gurmukhi: ਹੋਲਾ-ਮਹੱਲਾ ''hōlā muhalā''), also called Hola, is a three-day long Sikh festival which normally falls in March. It takes place on the second day of the lunar month of Chett, a day after the Hindu spring festival Holi but sometimes coincides with Holi. Hola Mohalla is a big festive event for Sikhs around the world. The fair held during Holi and Hola at Anandpur Sahib is traditionally a three-day event but participants attend Anandpur Sahib for a week, camping out and enjoying various displays of fighting prowess and bravery, and listening to kirtan, music and poetry. For meals, which is an integral part of the Sikh institution (Gurdwara), visitors sit together in ''Pangats'' (Queues) and eat vegetarian food of the Langars. The event concludes on the day of Hola Mohalla with a long, "military-style" procession near Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five seats of temporal authority of the Sikhs. Etymology Bhai Kahan Singh, who c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurdwara
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a '' Darbar Sahib'' where the current and everlasting guru of the Sikhs, the scripture Guru Granth Sahib, is placed on a (an elevated throne) in a prominent central position. Any congregant (sometimes with specialized training, in which case they can be known by the term granthi) may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation. All gurdwaras have a hall, where people can eat free vegetarian food served by volunteers at the gurdwara. They may also have a medical facility room, library, nursery, classroom, meeting rooms, playground, sports ground, a gift shop, and finally a repair shop. A gurdwara can be identified from a dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirpal Singh Badungar
Kirpal Singh Badungar is a politician from Punjab, India. He is the former president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Career He is from the Badungar village of Patiala. He did Gyani from Punjabi University, Patiala and then post graduation in English Literature. He taught in a school for few years before joining Shiromani Akali Dal, and served as the secretary of Shiromani Akali Dal for five years between 1996 and 2001. He worked as the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union ... from 2001 to 2003 and then from 2016 to 2017. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanakshahi Calendar
The Nanakshahi calendar (Punjabi: ਨਾਨਕਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਜੰਤਰੀ ) is a tropical solar calendar used in Sikhism. It is based on the "Barah Maha" (Twelve Months), a composition composed by the Sikh gurus reflecting the changes in nature conveyed in the twelve-month cycle of the year. The year begins with the month of Chet, with 1 Chet corresponding to 14 March. The reference epoch of the Nanakshahi calendar is the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, corresponding to the year 1469 CE. Etymology The Nanakshahi Calendar is named after the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann (2010) Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition volumes ABC-Cli/ref> History Sikhs have traditionally recognised two eras and luni-solar calendars: the Nanakshahi and Khalsa. Traditionally, both these calendars closely followed the Bikrami calendar with the Nanakshahi year beginning on Katak Pooranmashi (full moon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh. SGPC also administers Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. The SGPC is governed by the president of SGPC. The SGPC manages the security, financial, facility maintenance and religious aspects of Gurdwaras as well as keeping archaeologically rare and sacred artifacts, including weapons, clothes, books and writings of the Sikh Gurus. Bibi Jagir Kaur became the first woman to be elected president of the SGPC for the second time in September 2004. She had held the same post from March 1999 to November 2000. History Foundation In 1920 the emerging Akali leadership summoned a general assembly of the Sikhs holding all shades of opinion on 15 November 1920 in vicinity of the Akal Takht in Amritsar. The purpose of this assembl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi ( Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, other Indian cultures and diaspora celebrate this festival too. Whilst it is culturally significant as a festival of harvest, in many parts of India, Vaisakhi is also the date for the Indian Solar New Year. For Sikhs, in addition to its significance as the harvest festival, during which Sikhs hold kirtans, visit local Gurdwaras, community fairs, hold ''nagar kirtan'' processions, raise the Nishan Sahib flag, and gather to socialize and share festive foods, Vaisakhi observes major events in the history of Sikhism and the Indian subcontinent that happened in the Punjab region. Vaisakhi as a major Sikh festival marks the birth of the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism, on 13 April 1699. Later, Ranjit Singh was procla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Before becoming a Sikh (Shishya from Sanskrit), on a lovely pilgrimage after having been prompted to search for a ''guru'', he heard his nephew's wife, Bibi Amro, reciting a hymn by Guru Nanak, and was deeply moved by it. Bibi Amro was the daughter of Guru Angad, the second and then current Guru of the Sikhs. Amar Das persuaded Bibi Amro to introduce him to her father and in 1539, Amar Das, at the age of sixty, met Guru Angad and became a Sikh, devoting himself to the Guru. In 1552, before his death, Guru Angad appointed Amar Das as Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of Sikhism. Guru Amar Das was an important innovator in the teachings of Guru who introduced a religious organization called the Manji system by appointing trained clergy, a system th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. Punjab's capital and largest city and historical and cultural centre is Lahore. The other major cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Sialkot, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, and Bahawalpur. Punjab grew out of the settlements along the five rivers, which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE, and had numerous migrations by the Indo-Aryan peoples. Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one's social status being determined by land ownership. The Punjab emerged as an important agricultura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autumn
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemisphere). Autumn is the season when the duration of daylight becomes noticeably shorter and the temperature cools considerably. Day length decreases and night length increases as the season progresses until the Winter Solstice in December (Northern Hemisphere) and June (Southern Hemisphere). One of its main features in temperate climates is the striking change in colour for the leaves of deciduous trees as they prepare to shed. Date definitions Some cultures regard the autumnal equinox as "mid-autumn", while others with a longer temperature lag treat the equinox as the start of autumn. In the English-speaking world of high latitude countries, autumn traditionally began with Lammas Day and ended around Hallowe'en, the approxima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
