Birth of Guru Angad Dev

Guru Angad, also called Lehna or Lahina, was the second out of ten Guru’s who founded Sikhism (1504 -1552). This day celebrates Guru Angad Dev and the history of how Sikhism was founded.

Who celebrates?

Sikhs around the world.

How do people celebrate?

• Sikhs will send others greetings and decorate their houses with lights
• People may also visit their place of worship, a Gurudwara.

What should I know?

• Guru Angad was influential in creating religions institutions and schools and was responsible for using a simplified alphabet, Gurmukhi, which modified old Punjabi
• Gurpurbs are the celebration of the lives or deaths of Guru’s who founded Sikhism
• In the 2011 census 423,000 people identified as Sikh in the UK.

How can I support others?

• Don’t assume because a colleague’s or service user’s family are Sikh that they are religious
• Ask people about their faith and whether they’d be willing to share what it means to them
• Use the opportunity to learn about the Sikh faith and culture using the additional resources
• Talk to your team about the Sikh representation among your volunteer, employee and service user population and if it’s representative of your area.

BBC: Guru Angad Dev: https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/angaddev.shtml