Here is a brief history of Khalsa Day
The Sikh New Year and the establishment of the Sikh community in 1699 are celebrated on Vaisakhi, also known as Khalsa Day which further adds to the reverence and fervor of the festival.
Canada is home to over 500,000 people of the Sikh faith, mainly concentrated in the Greater Toronto and Vancouver Metropolitan areas. The community celebrates Vaisakhi with much zeal and is driven by their pride and enthusiasm for sharing their rich culture and history.
Khalsa Day Parade
The Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwaras Council (OSGC) organizes an annual parade along Lakeshore Blvd. Thousands of participants and spectators attend this parade each year, which is the third largest parade in the country attended by community members in large numbers. Participants from other ethnicities and cultures are also welcome at this rich cultural event.
Major highlights of the 2017 Khalsa Day Sikh celebration in Toronto
Commemorating the Sikh new year, the Khalsa order of Sikhism, and the end of Sikh heritage month, this year's event also celebrated the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh's birth.
Thousands of people celebrated the 39th annual Khalsa Day Parade in Toronto in April 2017. The event was also graced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Kathleen Wynne, and Mayor John Tory.
Prime Minister Trudeau said that it was a wonderful time to celebrate the fact that Canada is a country that is strong not despite differences but because of differences. While addressing the audience, the Mayor continued to emphasize the importance of diversity. He added that the city embraces and promotes the positive aspects of all religions and cultures. Diversity has contributed to the development of a society that is both diverse and harmonious.
As a tribute to the four sons of the guru, this event was chosen to raise funds for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) for the first time in its history.
Over tens of thousands of people participated in the parade which took place from Exhibition Place to Nathan Phillips Square. Despite the bad weather, there was a good turnout for the event. Dr. Parminder Singh, a director of the council that organized the event, told CBC Toronto that they were pleasantly surprised by the turnout. According to him, Sikhs from all over Ontario had gathered there that day.
The Khalsa Day parade is an expression of solidarity within the Canadian Sikh community inviting everybody to come out and share the day with them. It reaffirms the Sikh belief in harmony worldwide.