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Vaisakhi, also pronounced Baisakhi marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern India.Whilst it is culturally significant as a festival of harvest, in many parts of India, Vaisakhi is also the date for the Indian Solar New Year.
Vaisakhi is observed on the 13 or 14 April every year in the 21st century. However, in 1801 AD, it fell on 11 April.This is because the date of Vaisakhi and other Sankrantis keeps changing slowly over years. Vaisakhi would fall on 29 April in Year 2999. The festival coincides with other new year festivals celebrated on the first day of Vaisakh in other regions of the Indian Subcontinent such as Puthandu, Pohela Boishakh, Bohag Bihu, and Vishu.
For some Hindus, the first day of Vaisakh marks the traditional solar new year, in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and other parts of India.However, this is not the universal new year for all Hindus. For some, such as those in and near Gujarat, the new year festivities coincide with the five-day Diwali festival.
For others, the new year falls on Cheti Chand, Gudi Padwa and Ugadi which falls a few weeks earlier. The harvest is complete and crops ready to sell, representing a time of plenty for the farmers. Fairs and special thanksgiving pujas (prayers) are common in the Hindu tradition. It is available in the Vanis of the saints that in Satlok, the Vaisakhi-like atmosphere always remains there.
It is regionally known by many names among the Hindus, though the festivities and its significance is similar. It is celebrated by Hindus bathing in sacred rivers, as they believe that river goddess Ganges descended to earth on Vaisakhi from Svarga.Some rivers considered particularly sacred include the Ganges, Jhelum and Kaveri. Hindus visit temples, meet friends and party over festive foods.
Poyla Baishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar and is celebrated on 14 April every year in the states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam (Barak Valley) by Bengali Hindus.
Some historians attribute the Bengali calendar to the 7th-century king Shashanka.The term Bangabda (Bangla year) is found too in two Shiva temples many centuries older than Akbar era, suggesting that Bengali calendar existed before Akbar’s time.Various dynasties whose territories extended into Bengal, prior to the 13th-century, used the Vikram Samvat. Buddhist texts and inscriptions created in the Pala Empire era mention “Vikrama” and the months such as Ashvin, a system found in Sanskrit texts elsewhere in ancient and medieval Indian subcontinent.
Pakistan
Vaisakhi is an important among Pakistani Hindus. In Undivided Punjab, the Hindu Shrine of Katas Raj was known for its Vaisakhi fair. It was attended by around 10,000 pilgrims who were mostly Hindus.Similarly, at the shrine of Bairagi Baba Ram Thaman, a Vaisakhi fair was held annually since 16th century CE which was attended by around 60,000 Hindu pilgrims and Bairagi saints from all over India used to throng the shrine.The 1961 Muzaffargarh District Census Report claims that Vaisakhi is associated with bullock racing and is a common festivity among the cultivators.
Nepal
Vaisakhi is celebrated as Nepalese New Year because it is the day which marks the Hindu Solar New Year as per Vikram Samvat, the Hindu Solar Calendar. Vaisakha is the first month in Nepalese Calendar. The idols of Goddess Thimi Kumari are carried out in palanquins and are taken around the city.
United States
Vaisakhi is celebrated by Hindu community and Indian & Nepalese diaspora in United States of America. Every year Nepalese Hindus gather up in traditional outsfits like kurtis and Nepalese caps to observe the Hindu Solar New Year. The Bengali Hindu Community also celebrates its new year ‘Pohela Baisakh’ on this day. A Baisakhi Mela or fair is also held where Bengali handicrafts sessions are held. The Bay Area Malayalee Association holds Vishu celebration (Kerala New Year). Event includes Sadhya (Kerala-style feast) and cultural, cinematics and comedy programs, and end with a tea social.[118] Tamil Community also celebrates New Year on this day as Puthandu.