Every year Vaisakhi is delightful and full of excitement of a community coming together to acknowledge one another’s own hopes and dreams. That is the essence of Vaisakhi, a time for promise and renewal, of rebirth and of reflection on the year to come.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Sikh Vaisakhi is of course now a major component of international celebrations. The Anniversary of the Birth of the Khalsa Identity of many Sikh is integral to their faith, identity and community. The day is a celebration of sports, dance and song, the commemoration of the Sikh Spirit of fighting for the faith and the diverse beliefs of others, of compassion and commitment; these fundamental principles New Zealanders believe in and will celebrate.
The message of the founder of the Khalsa Panth, Dhan Guru Gobind Singh Ji that we must all “Recognise The Whole Human Race As one” is a statement universal in its message. In New Zealand we are a nation with other 213 ethnicities, we have a wellspring of different communities building inter-generational lives in New Zealand contributing to our culture, economy and innovative future. In celebrating Vaisakhi we celebrate all communities, all renewed efforts to build New Zealand into a better nation and that is a fantastic thing to do.
Happiness for many New Zealanders, particularly these last two years with COVID closing our borders and many businesses, has been something hard fought to retain amid the continuing local and global uncertainty. War ravages in Ukraine and other internationally backed cyber forces edge ever closer to our digital border. Some see Vaisakhi as a time for messages of peace, something the world needs right now as families lose loved ones and we receive refugees from around our world. There is also the renewal message of Vaisakhi as the Harvest festival where for those form Northern India and the Punjab in particular, the grains of South and Central Asia begin to be sown and the culinary cultures are creatively displayed for yet another year of festivities. These events are celebrations of our future.
As we all continue to fight for our economy and the future of New Zealand while Omicron and the wider COVID situation has continued to curtail our ability to host large gatherings and celebrations, particularly on the occasion of Vaisakhi where multiple communities from Sikh to Hindu to secular come together in the spirit of joy with dance, fiery performances of sport and prowess. April is for many ethnic communities a brilliant time for their cultures. Even when our cultures cannot come together in person, we can always in spirit.
May the spirit of Vaisakhi and the special occasions of the month of April bring your family, community and loved ones the very best of this season.
To all those celebrating,
Happy Vaisakhi! – Melissa Lee, National Member of Parliament, National spokesperson for – Broadcasting & Media | Ethnic Communities