RE Unit Spring Festivals: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? Photo courtesy of (Birmingham Culture@flickr com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution How to use this workbook When you are working through the questions in this workbook, remember: 1. To write your answers in your best handwriting in your home learning / exercise / notebook. Don’t try to answer the questions in boxes in the workbook. 2. “Blue box is book” = The blue boxes are there to show you what to write / say and how to set out your work / ideas. Anything in the blue boxes is what you write in your book. Don’t write the black, write the blue – but without drawing the box round it! 3. When you are answering reading comprehension questions, you should always answer in complete thoughts (full sentences) and use the exact words from the text to prove your answer. The blue boxes will show you how… 1 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) RE Unit Spring Festivals: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? Learning Overview Lesson Lesson Question You will learn: 1. What is Vaisakhi? Who celebrates Vaisakhi. When Vaisakhi is celebrated. Where Vaisakhi is celebrated. When Vaisakhi started. Why Vaisakhi is such an important festival for Sikhs. 2. Who was Guru Gobind Singh? Who the Sikh Gurus were. Who Guru Gobund Singh was. How Guru Gobind Singh made Vaisakhi a special festival for Sikhs. 3. What is the Khalsa and why is it important to What the Khalsa is. Sikhs? Why the Khalsa was formed. Who formed the Khalsa. Why the Khalsa is important to Sikhs. 4. What are the 5 Ks and why are they important What each of the 5 Ks is. to Sikhs? Why Sikhs wear them. 5. How is Vaisakhi celebrated? How Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi. Why Vaisakhi is such an important festival for Sikhs. General Glossary amrit holy water; sugar mixed with water gurdwara the Sikh place of worship guru a spiritual teacher Guru Granth Sahib The Sikh Holy Book Khalsa The word "Khalsa" means "pure", Khalsas are Sikhs who have been baptised in the sacred Amrit Ceremony. Khanda a Sikhism symbol, representing a vertical two-edged sword with its blade surrounded by a circle and its hilt (handle) intersected by the crossing hilts (handles) of two single-edged swords. It is on the Sikh flag. nirgun the Sikh belief that God is above and beyond everything Nishan Sahib the Sikh flag; a triangular yellow flag made of cotton or silk cloth, with a tassel at its end. The word Nishan means ‘symbol’ Panj Payare the five ‘beloved ones’ Punjab region of India, where Sikhism was founded sargun the Sikh belief that God is everywhere and in everything shabads messages from the Gurus (contained in the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh Holy Book Sikh The word 'Sikh' in the Punjabi language means 'disciple'. Sikhism Sikhs are the disciples of God who follow the writings and teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus. Sri Harmandir Sahib The Golden Temple, a special gurdwara in Amritsar, a place in Northwestern India 2 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? Learning Activity: Connect with what you already know / think you know Think to yourself: what does the word Vaisakhi mean to me? Write down everything you know or think you know about Vaisakhi in your home learning / exercise / note book. Remember to use complete sentences. The sentence stems are there to help you. Lesson 1: What is Vaisakhi? When I think about the word Vaisakhi, I think about _____________________________ I think / I know that Vaisakhi_________________________________________________ Either: My family and I usually celebrate Vaisakhi by ___________________________________ OR: My family and I don’t usually celebrate Vaisakhi because _________________________ If I could ask one question about Vaisakhi, it would be: ___________________________ 3 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) Lesson 1: What is Vaisakhi? Vaisakhi is a Sikh festival. It is held on either 13th or 14th April each year. Vaisakhi started as a harvest festival The most important Sikh Vaisakhi was many years ago… held in 1699 at Anandpur. During the festival in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Vaisakhi is one of the most important formed the first Sikh Khalsa. festivals in Sikhism. Sikhs believe in one God who guides and protects them. They believe everyone is equal in God’s eyes. Sikhs believe that your actions are important and you should lead a good life. Vaisakhi is a festival celebrated by Sikhs. It They believe the way to do this is: can be called Vaisakhi or Baisakhi, Keep God in your heart and mind at depending on which part of India your all times family comes from. Live honestly and work hard Treat everyone equally Sikhism is one of the world’s largest (most Be generous to those less fortunate followed) religions. It was founded than you (started) around 500 years ago by the first Serve others. Guru, Guru Nanak. Some Hindus also celebrate Vaisakhi for different reasons. 4 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) It was a time when Punjabi people said thank you to their gods for all the good things given to human beings – a bit like Christian do when they hold their harvest festivals in the autumn. It was also their New Year celebration, The date of Baisakhi (or Vaisakhi) is April because the first day of the Indian solar th th 13 every year and April 14 once in every (sun) year is April 13th or 14th. 36 years. The change from the 13th April to 14th April once in every 36 years is because the festival is based on the Indian solar (sun- related) calendar, which changes with the sun. Before 1699, Sikhs from all over the Punjab used to gather together for Vaisakhi to celebrate the spring harvest and the start of their new year. Hindus also gathered together for Vaisakhi. Vaisakhi was a spring harvest festival that had been celebrated for many years in the But in 1699, Sikhs believe that something Punjab region of India. important happened which changed the way they would celebrate Vaisakhi for ever. In 1699, Sikhs from all over the Punjab gathered together to celebrate the New Year spring harvest as usual. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru (Sikh spiritual teacher), was also there. 5 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) He chose this special day to establish the Khalsa. The first Khalsa (the Khalsa Panth) was a special group of men who were brave enough to help him to teach people about the Sikh way to live a good life, to look after the poor and homeless and to stand up for their beliefs. During Vaisakhi, Sikhs remember the time that the Khalsa was formed and celebrate what it means to be the best you can be by following the Sikh way of life. People wear special, colourful clothes and visit their gurdwara (the Sikh place of worship). There are parades in the street, music, singing and dancing. During the festival the nishan sahib (Sikh flag) which flies over the gurdwara is taken down so that a brand new one can be put up. The special cloth which is wound round the flag pole is also replaced by a new one. Sikhs in the Punjab try to visit Amritsar during the festival to celebrate their commitment to Sikhism. Sikhs in other parts of the world make trips to and from their Gurdwaras to show that they believe in the Sikh way of life. 6 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) Lesson 1 Learning Activity: Retrieve what you have just found out about Vaisakhi Step 1) Metacognition Without looking back at the text you have just read, look at the four questions in the grid below. In your home learning book, write the numbers 1), 2), 3), 4). Put a star next to the numbers if you think you will be able to answer them correctly. Put a question mark next to the numbers if you don’t think you know the answer. 4 Questions to test yourself (remember, no looking…!) 1) Can you remember the date of the festival of 2) What are the two things Vaisakhi has always Vaisakhi and where it started? celebrated? 3) Can you remember the year that Guru Gobind 4) Can you name 3 ways in which Sikhs celebrate Singh made Vaisakhi even more important for Vaisakhi? Sikhs? Now your book will look like this (remember blue is book!): RE Lesson 1: What is Vaisakhi? 1) 2) 3) ? 4) Or maybe like this: RE Lesson 1: What is Vaisakhi? 1) 2) ? 3) ? 4) Step 2) Test yourself Without looking back at the text you have just read, answer at the four questions in the grid in complete sentences. Your book will look something like this (remember blue is book!): 1) The festival of Vaisakhi is celebrated on ___________________________and it started in _________________ 2) The two things Vaisakhi has always celebrated are______________________and________________________ 3) The year that Guru Gobind Singh made Vaisakhi even more important for Sikhs was______________________ 4) 3 of the ways in which Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi are_________________________________________________ Step 3) Self-marking and correcting Now look back at the text for Lesson 1 (What is Vaisakhi?) and mark or correct your answers in purple pen (or any colour will do). Step 4) Learn from your mistakes If you got any wrong, make sure you learn the right answer for tomorrow! 7 RE: What is Vaisakhi and how is it celebrated? (Workbook) Lesson 2: Who was Guru Gobind Singh? Retrieval Practice: What can you remember about Vaisakhi from Lesson 1? Without looking back at your work from Lesson 1, answer these questions in your home learning / exercise / note book.