Baisakhi: One of the Most Important Harvest Festivals in India

The Baisakhi festival is primarily an agricultural festival. The festival is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm throughout the country, especially in Punjab. Once the crops grow all green and swing in the breeze in the northern states of India, and the Rabi crop is fully prepared, farm owners dance and sing songs to thank nature. This year the festival of Baisakhi will be observed on 14 April. 

Significance of Celebrating Baisakhi

Farmers celebrate the festival of Baisakhi in the joy of the preparation of crops such as Wheat, pulses, oilseed & sugar cane. They get excited, looking at the crop swinging everywhere. It is the time when the most popular folk dance of Punjab ‘bhangra’ is performed in celebration.

Baisakhi is a major event for the farmers as it commemorates the harvest time of the Rabi season. Wheat crops could be seen growing and swinging all across Punjab at this time of year. Farmers get ecstatic and delighted when they see the crop.

Some portion of the harvested crop is offered to God and the remainder of that portion gets distributed among people as Prashad.  

Baisakhi The Festival of Harvesting 

The festival of Baisakhi is associated with agriculture. Once the crop is ready on the farm, the farmers begin swinging joyfully, and this joy is celebrated as Baisakhi. At this festival, everyone participates in folk dances such as Bhangra and Gidda. The Earth provides crops after the efforts and hard work of the farmers. When the crop is harvested, all tiredness is removed, and energy and joy are replenished for the next season's crop preparation. 

Baisakhi In Punjab

On the occasion of Baisakhi, the state of Punjab acknowledges a state-wide holiday. Offices, schools, and colleges remain closed during the festival to encourage people to participate in the celebration. An exchange of gifts can be seen among families, relatives, friends, and neighbors. Employees of various businesses and offices also receive gifts on the occasion of Baisakhi.