Jasmine Kaur

Every year, when December rolls around, there is much buzz about the holiday season. From Hanukah to Kwanzaa and, of course, Christmas, it is a time of gatherings, decorations and gift exchange. Inevitably, while shopping for presents for teachers, friends, and family, our children will convince their parents to get them a special something too. There is the feeling of celebration in the air, but many Sikh children may be unsure if this is a significant time for them in any way. Guru Nanak Sahib’s prakash purab is usually in November and Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s Gurpurab is in January, with Shahidi of the Sahibzade in December; with a little effort and planning, we can step up in our communities and give Sikh kids a celebration of their own that they can take pride in and teach their friends about too.

I sat there listening to kirtan at a housewarming. I don’t really remember what year it was and I do not remember whose house I was at. I was straining my ears to understand what the Bhai Sahib was rendering. I did not understand much, but sat there as I heard familiar vocabulary. Words that I had definitely heard in conversation before, and words that I had read before too probably in the Guru Granth Sahib. There was mention of milk (dudh), of brother (bhai) and of a sister-in-law (bhabi) and other words that I tried to make sense of. And then the Bhai Sahib stopped singing and started explaining. He probably explained the entire Sabad, but all I remember was that it had to do with the different stages of human life. And I only remembered that because at the time I was a student studying human development. I thought it was very cool that Guru Nanak Sahib was talking about human development in his Bani.

Established in 2003 and located in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., SikhRI is a non-profit, faith-based initiative whose mission is to "facilitate training and development while inspiring Sikh values.