GURPURABS
Date : Anniversaries associated with
the lives of the Sikh Gurus are referred 
to as Gurpurabs (festivals). Of these the
important ones are the birthdays of Guru Nanak and Guru Govind Singh and the martyrdom
days of Guru Arjun Dev and Guru Teg Bahadur. Guru Nanak's jayanti falls in the
month of Kartik (October / November). The Tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, was born on 2 December
1666 in Patna. The martyrdom day of the fifth Guru, Arjun Dev falls in the months of May
and June and that of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, in November.
Legend/s : Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, was born in a Punjabi village (presently in Pakistan) in 1469. Guru Gobind Singh forged the distinctive identity of the Sikhs and called them Khalsa (the pure) and made it mandatory for them to have the five Ks - Kesh (hair), Kripan (dagger), Kada (bracelet), Kangha (comb) and Kachcha (underwear). Guru Arjun Dev was burnt alive at the stake in the hot months of May and June and Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded in Delhi.
Practice : Gurpurabs mark the culmination of Prabhat
Pheris, the early
morning religious procession which goes around the
localities singing shabads (hymns). These pheris generally start three
weeks before the festival. Devotees offer sweets and tea when the procession passes by
their homes. The celebrations start with the three-day akhand path, in which the
Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book of the Sikhs) is read continuously from beginning to end
without a break. Conclusion of the reading coincides with the day of the festival. The
Granth Sahib is also carried in procession on a float decorated with flowers throughout
the village or city. Five armed guards, who represent the Panj Pyares, head the
procession carrying Nishan Sahibs (the Sikh flag). Local bands play religious
music and marching schoolchildren form a special part of the procession. Free sweets and langar
or community lunches are also offered to everyone irrespective of religious faith. Local
volunteers serve it with a spirit of seva (service) and bhakti
(devotion). Sikhs visit gurdwaras (Sikh temples) where special programmes are
arranged and kirtans (religious songs) sung. Houses and gurudwaras are lit up to
add to the festivities. On the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev kachi lassi (sweetened
milk) is offered to the thirsty passers-by to commemorate the death of the Guru who was
burnt to death during the hot months of May and
June.
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