Guru Nanak founded Sikhism, youngest religion practiced in India. Owing to the increasing hostility between Hindus and Muslims, Nanak tried to bring about an understanding between the two communities. He rejected the caste system of Hindus, preached monotheism and did not believe in idolatry. He accepted the Hindu doctrine of karma and transmission of souls. Nanak`s disciples came to be called Sikhs. The last guru, Gobind Singh, gave to the Sikhs Adi Granth (a Holy Scripture of Sikhs) as the symbolic representation of the Gurus. It is also called Granth Sahib. It contains the writings of first five gurus, the ninth guru, a couplet by Guru Gobind Singh and writings of Hindu and Muslims saints, mainly of Kabir.

The Granth Sahib is the central object of Sikh worship and ritual. The festivals of the Sikhs are mainly religious and they organize kirtans (hymn-singing), katha (discourse), ardas (supplication), karah parshad (consecrated food) and langar (free food distribution from the gurudwara kitchen). The non-stop reading of the Granth Sahib known as Akhand Path, lasting two days and nights, is performed on important religious festivals. Fasting is not stipulated for any festival - in fact, most are celebrated with a communal meal at the langar or with large family gatherings. Most festivals involve a visit to gurudwara (Sikh shrine) for prayer, singing of passages read from the Guru Granth Sahib. Since most Sikhs were originally Hindus, a large number of Hindu festivals are still celebrated by them.

The Sikh festivals are based on a combination of the lunar calendar and the solar calendar of Northern India. Though they are not static within the year of the Gregorian calendar, they do not vary much more than by a fortnight from year to year. There are two broad categories of festivals; the celebration of the birth or martyrdom of some of the Gurus and festivals that celebrate important events in the development of the religion itself; thus the prominent festivals of the Sikhs include Gurupurabs and Baisakhi.