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Vaisakhi an open door to community

Annual Vancouver celebration expects turnout of 100,000

On Saturday, South Vancouver will be packed with people of all cultures coming to celebrate one of the holiest and most celebratory days in the Sikh year. Vaisakhi is not only a huge day for the Sikh community, it is one of the most visible celebrations in the city.

In Punjabi villages, a Vaisakhi procession called a nagar kirtan takes place, a festive parade of exuberant music and bhangra dancing. In Vancouver’s own Punjabi village, the annual event draws not only Sikhs but plenty of other Vancouverites who enjoy the colourful displays and, not insignificantly, the abundance of vegetarian food freely handed out. This tradition, based on the Sikh concept of “seva,” selfless service, accounts for part of the popularity of the festival among non-Sikhs.

Because this is a federal election year, expect plenty of politicians decked out in Punjabi garb.

Vaisakhi is a Sikh celebration of the Khalsa — a term meaning “pure” but also interpreted as “free” —which represents the collective of all initiated Sikhs. Khalsa refers to the entire community and also to each individual.

Vaisakhi is also celebrated as the new year by Indian Hindus and Buddhists. Hindus believe that the goddess Ganga descended to Earth on this day and they honour her by bathing in the Ganges.

For Sikhs, in addition to marking the founding of the Khalsa, Vaisakhi is a winter harvest festival and a day of thanksgiving. People will buy new clothes and there will be plenty of dancing and favourite foods. Since 1979, Vancouver Sikhs have taken to the streets in ever-larger annual celebrations.

Ranjit Hayer of the Khalsa Diwan Society, which runs the parade, predicts a turnout of about 100,000. Surrey’s Vaisakhi a week later will be even bigger.

“It’s a very big event,” says Hayer. “One of the most important days in the calendar.”

It dates back to 1699, when Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh guru, formalized religious practices and initiated the first five Singhs — “lions” — into the Order of Pure Ones, or Khalsa Panth. An initiated Sikh is identified by the Five Ks, articles of faith set out by the guru: a keski, turban; kangha, a wooden comb; kara, a bracelet of steel or iron; kacchera, an undergarment; and kirpan, a ceremonial dagger.

Vaisakhi is one of three annual Sikh festivals, the others being Maghi, which follows the winter solstice and marks the lengthening of the days, and Diwali, the festival of lights in which candles symbolize the triumph over spiritual darkness.

Sikhism emphasizes good deeds above ritual and places special devotion to equality among all people. It is a religion, not an ethnicity, but since Sikhs do not generally proselytize, they have remained a solidly Punjabi community. The roots of the religion stem to about 1500, when Guru Nanak began teaching a practice that differed substantively from the Islam and Hinduism then prevalent in the area, which is contemporary Pakistan and northern India.

There are about 27 million Sikhs in the world, about 470,000 in Canada, of whom about 200,000 are in B.C. Plenty of them will be on the streets Saturday as the procession snakes through thick crowds beginning at the Ross Street gurdwara at 11 a.m. The parade goes along Marine Drive to Main Street, up Main to 49th, across to Fraser, down to 57th, over to Ross and back to the temple.

Vaisakhi is one of the times of the year when the Sikh community is most visible to the rest of the city and Hayer, of the Khalsa Diwan Society, says this reflects the Sikh attitude.

“Our doors are open for everybody,” he says.

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