Detailed Information about Gurpurab Festival & Its Importance

India is a land of festivals and the Indians are known to celebrate the festivals like no other people in the world. India is a potpourri of cultures and the people of India take pride in remembering the rich tradition passed through the generations through these festivals. The warm hearted people of Punjab are known to have been celebrating the Gurpurab with enthusiasm and very much dedication. The Gurpurab are the commemoration of the births and the deaths of the Sikh gurus. The people of Punjab gather at the Gurudwaras to pay homage to their Sikh gurus during these times. The Sikhs remember the martyrdom of their gurus during these Gurpurab.

Even the Sikh gurus after Guru Govind Singh Ji have been mentioned in the history to have been celebrated the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The word "gur" refers to guru or the master and the word "purab" means festival and hence it is the festival of the gurus. The celebrations of the Gurpurab last for three days. On the first day of the celebrations the akhand path is observed in all the Gurudwaras. During the Akhand Path the saints at the Gurudwara read the guru Granth sahib continuously for 48 hours. On the second day the people come out in the streets and chant the hymns from the guru granth sahib which is called the Nagarkirtan. On the final day or the third day the people sing the kirtans or the devotional songs in the Gurudwaras. The people also assemble to hear the recitation of the teachings of the Sikh gurus and also participate in the famous guru ka langar. At the guru ka langar all the devotees sit together on the floor with folded legs irrespective of the status and eat the food together. The people volunteer to prepare the food, serve the food and even in the cleaning of the dishes.

There are a numerous Gurpurabs mentioned in the Nanakshahi calendar but the most popular of all of them discussed below-

The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Ji- Guru Nanak is known to be the founder of Sikhism. The Gurpurab of Guru Nanak is celebrated usually in the months of November. The Prabhat Pheris or the morning rounds are held during this time when the people gather in the wee hours of the day at the Gurudwaras to sing the hymns. During this time the people perform the "gatkas" or a type of Sikh martial arts.

The Gurpurab of Guru Gobind Singh Ji- the celebrations of the birthday of the guru or the guru Gurpurab does not have much difference and more or less the same rituals are performed during this time too.

The Matrydom day of Guru Arjan Dev and the matrydom of Guru Teg Bahadur are also observed as the Gurpurab and the celebrations can be seen in the state on this day too. The other Gurpurabs are the Gurpurab of Guru Harkishan Ji and guru ram das Ji. As the guru grant sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs is also considered as the guru, the Sikhs offer prayers and place the holy scripture in the golden temple at Amritsar and observe this day as a Gurpurab too.