Vaisakhi 2027 date (14 April), meaning and how Sikhs celebrate it in the Netherlands

What is Vaisakhi?

Vaisakhi (also spelled Baisakhi) opens the month of Vaisakh and, in the traditional solar calendar of Punjab and northern India, the new year.

Sikhs remember the day above all for 1699, when the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, introduced the Amrit initiation and founded the Khalsa, the community of initiated Sikhs. In Sikh tradition he asked who was ready to give his life; five men stepped forward, and these Panj Pyare ('the Five Beloved Ones') became its first members. Behind the Khalsa stands the Sikh belief that all people are equal, whatever their caste, religion or gender. The festival itself is older and rooted in farming: Punjabis of every faith still use the spring season to give thanks for the rabi crops such as wheat and barley.

When is Vaisakhi in 2027?

Vaisakhi falls on Wednesday 14 April 2027. Because the festival follows the sun and not the moon, it hardly moves: it is usually on 13 or 14 April. The sun enters Aries (Mesha Sankranti) on 14 April 2027 at 15:33 Indian time, which is 12:03 Dutch time, so the day is also 14 April in the Netherlands.

In India it is a regional holiday in Punjab and in Jammu and Kashmir. Dutch processions have been held on a Sunday in the weeks after it, from mid-April to June. Amsterdam held its nagar kirtan on Sunday 15 April 2012 and Almere on Sunday 13 May 2012; in 2015 the Amsterdam procession was on Sunday 14 June.

Other new years on the same date

Vaisakhi is not the only new year at this point in the solar calendar. Bengali Hindus (West Bengal, Tripura and elsewhere) celebrate Pohela Boishakh, Assam has Bohag Bihu, Tamil Nadu has Puthandu, Kerala has Vishu and Odisha has Pana Sankranti, all on or close to the same day. They are festivals of their own communities with their own customs; what they share is the solar date.

In parts of northern India Hindus keep their own customs on this day: bathing in sacred rivers, visiting temples, giving to charity and going to fairs at pilgrimage places such as Haridwar.

Vaisakhi in the Netherlands

About 15,000 Sikhs live in the Netherlands, mostly in and around Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Almere and Den Haag. There are gurdwaras (Sikh houses of worship) in Amsterdam, Almere, Den Haag and Rotterdam, and also in Beverwijk and Eindhoven.

The public way to celebrate is the nagar kirtan, a procession with hymns. In Amsterdam it sets out from the Shri Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib on the Schakelstraat and has gone to Dam Square; the Amsterdam procession is held every year. In Almere the procession starts at the gurdwara Sikh Sangat Sahib on the Brongouw in Almere Haven. In 2022, after two years' pause, it took place on Sunday 22 May and drew Sikhs from all over the country, and in 2013 it passed through Almere Haven and along the Gooimeerdijk. In 2012 about 2,500 people joined the Amsterdam procession and about 1,000 the one in Almere.

Ask the gurdwaras for the day and route of their processions; the 2027 dates are not known yet. The gurdwaras in Den Haag and Rotterdam are the place to ask about their own Vaisakhi programme.

What happens on Vaisakhi

The day often starts in a decorated gurdwara with prayers and hymns. Sikhs raise the Nishan Sahib flag, share karah parshad and eat together in the langar, the free communal meal, and some choose the day for Khalsa initiation. Bhangra and gidda dancing are also part of the festivities. Yellow and orange are the colours of the day; many Sikhs wear orange.

The nagar kirtan is led by the Panj Pyare and carries the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, on a decorated vehicle, with hymns sung along the way. In Amsterdam men have swept the street barefoot in front of the procession. At a procession in Sint-Truiden (Belgium), volunteers hand out drinks, fruit and sweets, there are short martial arts displays at some stops and a langar at the end. Ask the gurdwara what to expect at a Dutch procession.

How to join in and visit a gurdwara

In 2013 the Sikhs in Almere invited people of other faiths to the procession. The 2022 procession there aimed to meet neighbours, share information and build understanding. Non-Sikhs are also welcome in a gurdwara and can share the free meal.

Visitors are asked to cover their head with a scarf (a chunni) or turban out of respect, take their shoes off and leave them on the racks, and sit on the floor cross-legged without stretching their feet towards the Guru Granth Sahib. Men and women usually sit on separate sides, but this is not required. Visitors, Sikh or not, bow with the forehead to the floor as a greeting to the Guru Granth Sahib. Everyone can eat together in the langar hall, and karah parshad, a sweet made of flour, butter and sugar, is handed out at the end of the service. Gurdwaras elsewhere, such as in Ontario (Canada), also ask visitors to dress modestly.

The Amsterdam gurdwara is at Schakelstraat 21, about 500 metres from station Sloterdijk. It has been open daily from 06:00 to 19:00, with a Sunday diwan (service) with kirtan from 11:30 to 13:00 followed by langar. Check the times with the gurdwara before you go.