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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 6, 2022 03:16 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Christopher B. Quinn |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Recognizing the Sikh New Year, Vaisakhi in the Commonwealth |
| In the near future, I will be introducing a concurrent resolution that recognizes the Sikh New Year, Vaisakhi (“va-SAH-kee”), on April 14th in the Commonwealth. Delaware County is estimated to have approximately 30,000 Sikhs that live within its boundaries. Out of the 49 municipalities in Delaware County, 28 have Sikhs residing in them. It is estimated that within Berks, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia counties approximately 100,000 Sikhs call these counties their home. Sikhism is a monotheistic faith founded in the 15th Century by Guru Nanak on the principles of equality, freedom of religion, and community service and is the fifth-largest religion in the world. To Sikhs, Vaisakhi is an important festival that is celebrated every year. It originated as a harvest festival in the Punjabi region of northern India and in 1699 the tenth Sikh guru-prophet, Guru Gobind Singh chose the festival as the moment to establish the Order of Khalsa which formalized Sikhism and baptism called Amrit Sanskar. According to BBC, Guru Gobind Singh at the festival, came out of a tent carrying a sword and said that any Sikh prepared to give his life for his faith should enter the tent. Five men then disappeared into the tent, and Guru Gobind Singh came out -alone- with blood on his sword. The crowd worried that the five men were killed, however, the five men then appeared from the tent unharmed and wearing turbans. These five men became known as Panj Piare or the “beloved Five” and were the first members of the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh then sprinkled them with Amrit (holy water), in which the ritual became the basis of the Sikh baptism ceremony. Please join me in recognizing Vaisakhi-Sikh New Year in Pennsylvania. |