Baisakhi is celebrated in Punjab with great fervour. Baisakhi is derived from the month of Vaisakh, is New Year's Day in Punjab. It falls on April 13, though once in 36 years it occurs on 14th April.

Baisakhi marks the ripening of the Rabi harvest. It was on this day that the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa (the Sikh brotherhood) in 1699. The Sikhs, therefore, celebrate this festival as a collective birthday. Sikhs visits gurdwaras (Sikh temples) and listen to kirtans (religious songs) and discourses.

The Holy Scriptures of the Sikhs, Granth Sahib is taken in a procession, led by the Panj Pyaras (five senior sikhs) who are symbolic of the original leaders. The function ends with langar, the community lunches served by volunteers. The occasion is marked by lot of feasting and merry making. The bhangra is also performed on Baisakhi with great vigour and enthusiasm. All night revelries termed Baisakhi di Raat (night of festing) or Baisakhi da Mela (Baisakhi fair) are held, where men and women dance to the rhythmic beats of drums.

On this day in 1875, Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj - a reformed sect of Hindus who are devoted to the Vedas for spiritual guidance and have discarded idol worship.

This day is of immense religious importance to the Buddhists because Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment or Nirvana under the Mahabodhi tree in the town of Gaya on this auspicious day. The day is also known, as Buddha Purnima.

Baisakhi day is observed as the Naba Barsha (New Year) in Bengal.

Known as Rogali Bihu in Assam, the festival is celebrated with lively dances, music and feasting before the task of harvesting the crop.

Baisakhi is celebrated twice a year in Himachal Pradesh in honour of Goddess Jwalamukhi in the months of Vaishakha (April-May) and Kartika (November).

In the South, Baisakhi is celebrated to mark the Tamil and Telugu New Year.

In Kerala the festival is known as Vishu. A display of grain, fruits, flowers, gold, new cloths and money, is viewed early in the morning to ensure a prosperous year ahead. The temples in Kerala celebrate Pooram in honor of Vishnu. The Pooram observed in the Vaddakunathan Swamy (Shiva) temple of Trichur is famous.

In Bihar they celebrate in Vaishakha (April) and Kartika (November) in honor of the Sun God, Surya, at Surajpur-Baragaon - a village where, according to an ancient practice, people bathe in the temple tank and pay obeisance to the Sun God.