Vaisakhi is a religious ceremony that marks the beginning of the new year in Sikhism. It is tantamount to the Tamil Punthandu –the Tamil New Year, which is celebrated by Tamils– and falls on the same date, the 14th of April on the Gregorian calendar. The Vaisakhi festival honors the founding of the Khalsa tradition, which was inaugurated in 1699 by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.