gurpurb

Sikh festival celebrating a special event associated with the lives of the gurus. The most important celebrate the birthdays of Nanak (October/November) and Gobind Singh (December), and commemorate the martyrdom of Arjan (May/June) and Tegh Bahadur (November).

Three weeks before the gurpurb, there is a procession around the villages early in the day, and people may offer the participants tea or sweets. Three days before the date an Akhand Path (full non-stop reading of the Guru Granth Sahib) takes place, and then the celebrations begin.

The Guru Granth Sahib is carried through the streets with joyful ceremony. It is accompanied by five members of the community, representing the original Panj Pyares (‘five faithful ones’) of the Khalsa; they also carry the Sikh flag. Everybody joins the processions. A service is held in the gurdwara (Sikh temple), and the community are offered good things to eat. Sikhs may decorate their houses with lights.

The remembrance of the martyrdoms will have some similar celebrations, but the prayers will be more appropriate to the occasion.