Why Vaisakhi Is Celebrated on Different Days
By Sayva Kaur
It’s been a whole year since the release of our 2023 Vaisakhi Edition! In that edition, we were able to discuss the cultural vs. religious aspects of Vaisakhi. If you need a recap the article link is here: https://www.sikhwriters.org/articles/vaisakhi2023.
This year we will be addressing a new topic; Why is Vaisakhi celebrated by some on the 13th and others on the 14th? The date for Vaisakhi differs depending on who you ask and this is because Vaisakhi is on the 14th according to the Nanakshahi Calendar and it is on the 13th or 14th according to the Gregorian calendar.
So what is the Nanakshahi calendar? It is the universal Sikh calendar. Named after Guru Nanak Dev Ji, it is a twelve month year based off of the months within Guru Granth Sahib. It is determined by the sun's rotation and dates are set, never changing throughout the years. Vaisakhi starts on the first day of the Month Vaisakhi, which is the 14th. The Nanakshahi Calendar has also served to differentiate Sikhs and make sure that as a minority religion, Sikhs do not blend in with the majority-Hindu state of India. Having our own practices and systems help religion live on and be more easily incorporated into our lives.The calendar also brings principals from the Gurus into daily practice and even sets Gurpurabs into dates. Overall the Nanakshahi Calendar is specific to Sikhi and dates never shift or change.
The Gregorian calendar on the other hand, comes from Catholic Europe and is a much more accurate calendar than its predecessor, the Julian calendar. Initially Europe used the Julian Calendar but it inaccurately numbered the amount of days in a year based off of the sun. This created holidays to differ largely every year. In order to fix this the new Gregorian Calendar was created. Slowly many denominations of Christianity moved towards this calendar and now it is widely accepted as the universal calendar. Dates on this calendar can differ based off of the sun.
Altogether, Vaisakhi can be celebrated many different ways and even on different days. Whether you celebrate on the 13th or 14th, Happy Vaisakhi from the SYWA!
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