The  Sikhs celebrate both religious and social festivals. The religious festivals are  however called Gurbpurbs

The  important Sikh festival calendar is as follows:

Month	Gurpurb	Other  festivals
Jan-Feb	Birthday Guru Harrai Birthday of Guru Harrai	Maghi, Basant
Feb-March	xxxxxxxxxx	Hola Mohalla
March-April	Birthday Guru Angad	Baisakhi
April-May	Birthday Guru Arjan Birthday Guru Tegh Bahadur
May-June	Birthday Guru Amardas Martyrdom day Guru Arjan
June-July	Birthday Guru Hargobind
July-August	Birthday Guru Harkrishen
August-September	xxxxxxxxxxxxx	Rakhsha  Bandan
September-October	Birthday Guru Ramdas Installation Guru Granth Sahib
October-November	Birthday Guru Nanak	Diwali
November-December	Martyrdom  of Guru Tegh Bahadur
December-January	Birthday Guru Gobind Singh	Lohri

The  Sikh Shrine: Gurudwara:

• A  Sikh shrine is called a Gurdwara, meaning the doorway to the house of God.
• The  first Gurdwara was built by Guru Nanak Dev at Kartarpur.
• The  Sikh Gurdwaras must have a religious flag, called Nishan Sahib in the front of  the Gurdwara.
• Guru Granth is placed on the far side centre of the hall.
• There  should be no photographs of the Gurus or others in the hall where Guru Granth Sahib is installed.
• Gurdwaras  normally have two halls/rooms. The main hall where Guru Granth Sahib is placed  and the second hall where the community kitchen is served.
• All  entrants must take off their shoes, wash their feet and cover their heads before  entering the main hall.
• All  Sikh services end with the distribution of parshad (sweet pudding) and langar (dinner/lunch).
• Five historical Sikh gurdwaras have been declared as the Sikh Takhats (thrones).  These gurdwaras are vested with the power and authority to regulate the  religious life of the Sikh nation. The head priests of these shrines constitute a Sikh parliament and they are empowered with executive, legislative and  judicial powers regarding the Sikh religious issues. All Sikhs are under the  authority of the five takhats. The takhats are as follows:

The  name of the Shrine	The  names of the Guru its relates to:
Takhat Akal Takhat	Founded  by Guru Hargobind
Takhat Patna Sahib	The  birth place of Guru Gobind Singh
Takhat Hazoor Sahib	The  place where Guru Gobind Singh breathed his last.
Takhat Kesgarh Sahib	The  birth place of the Khalsa
Takhat Damdama Sahib	The  place where Guru Gobind Singh composed the second version of Guru Granth  Sahib.

All  the five takhats relate to the two Gurus who were Saint-soldiers.