The purpose of Vaisakhi is to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season. It also commemorates of the founding of the Sikh religion by Guru Nanak. Vaisakhi brings Sikhs together, as they prefer to celebrate in big groups. For the processions through the streets, the street itself is packed with people. There is not one large party for Vaisakhi, but rather many parties at different locations, most commonly different people's houses. This allows for traveling and mingling more than one would do at one large party. This way Sikh's get to visit and talk to people that they may not have seen otherwise, this is a throwback to the times when traveling was difficult and sometimes celebrations were the only way to see far away friends.

Vaisakhi also shows the tolerance of Sikhs for other religions. Even though Vaisakhi celebrates the start of the religion, which was made from a split with Buddhism, Sikhs still allow other religions to participate in their celebrations. This reiterates their ideals: “recognizing the existence of the same heavenly light in every human being, rich or poor, high or low irrespective of caste, creed, color, race, sex, religion, or nationality.” ( Sikh Religion, 1990 ) Buddhists and Muslims are usually the most common other religions present due to the proximity of the majority of the Sikh followers. Any religion can participate in any of the parts of the celebration, including the procession through the streets. I, a Roman Catholic, have celebrated Vaisakhi with Dr. Padda's family. By letting other religions participate equally along side them, Sikhs reiterate their tolerance for other religions. This celebration, shows the Sikh's rich and colorful clothing through the decorations and costumes they wear. The Sikh symbol, the Khanda, a weapon is prominently displayed on flags and on staffs, and is carried through the streets. “Celebratory objects are first and foremost material object though they represent ideas, objects, events, relationships, truths- not important to observer,” (Turner,1982:16) To an outsider the Khanda is a symbol representing three types of swords and could be taken to display aggression. To the Sikhs, the Khanda represents not only swords but it also symbolizes the three forms of God, and the essence of the Sikh philosophy- the uniqueness of God, the uniqueness of the twin ideals, and the goal of salvation while alive. (Dogra and Mansukhani,1995) The Khanda is like any symbol in a religious celebration in that it is only truly understood by those who believe in that religion and what it represents.