What is Chabeel Day?
June 23rd 2024 is the date for this year’s Chabeel Day!
‘Chabeel’ is a Punjabi word referring to a sweet, cool, non-alcoholic drink. Traditionally, in India Sikhs have offered chabeel to the general public on hot days, especially between May and June, when Sikhs remember the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev Ji.
The fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji, became the first Sikh martyr in 1606 after He refused to change the Sikh scriptures as ordered by the tyrannical Mughal Emperor Jahangir, in an effort to curtail the Guru’s growing influence in India. When Guru Arjan Dev Ji refused, He was tortured by being made to sit on a red hot plate, whilst hot sand was poured over him.
Instead of remembering this event through mourning, the Guru taught the Sikhs to accept God’s will as sweet. Therefore, Sikhs changed negativity into positivity by turning an attack upon them into a chance to serve others. We honour the Guru’s burning by cooling everyone else. This is Chardi Kala.
What is Chardi Kala?
The Sikh concept of Chardi Kala (directly translated as “ever-rising spirits”) dictates that one should be eternally optimistic. As such, when people may be feeling hot and bothered in the summer, Sikhs will be looking to keep people in a positive frame of mind on Chabeel Day
Last Year in Photos
How to get involved
Getting involved is easy! All we want you to do is go somewhere public and hand out free, cool, sweet drinks along with some of our educational leaflets. It is that simple!
Share pictures on social media and don’t forget to ask all involved to use the hashtags #ChabeelDay and #ChardiKala. Download our resources (leaflets, press release and more) from the link below.