Visit to Khalsa Primary School

Last week a group of Year 4 worship leaders visited Khalsa Primary School to join their celebrations for the birthday of Guru Nanak. We took the Elizabeth Line to Southall Station and noticed the sign was written in English and Punjabi. This was a language that was used in most of the celebrations we observed and joined in with during the morning. When we took the 120 bus through Southall we drove past a large Gurdwara, which is a place of worship for Sikh’s, a Church, a place of worship for Christians and a Mosque, a place of worship for Muslims. This showed us that Southall is a vibrant multi faith community in Ealing.

We were warmly welcomed as soon as we arrived at Khalsa Primary School and we could tell it was going to be a fun morning with music and lots of colourful decorations. We were given head coverings called a patka. We learnt that many Sikhs wear 5 symbols known as the 5 K’s to show their devotion to Sikhism including uncut hair.

During the morning we watched a large flag pole be taken down and we joined in to help wash and polish the pole before a new clean flag was carefully tied back on the pole and carefully raised back up. This ceremony involved lots of people and we heard prayers and songs as different groups of the school community joined in with the celebrations. We were given petals to sprinkle on the floor when the new flag was raised high and bubbles to join in the celebrations.

After the celebrations we were offered food and treats – we know it is a part of the Sikh culture to offer food and gifts when they welcome guests and visitors. We are looking forward to welcoming children from Khalsa to Christ the Saviour to join our Advent Carol Service in a few weeks time.