Turban Day celebrates college Sikh community

By Lethbridge Herald on April 14, 2023.

Lethbridge College senior writer and editor Lisa Kozleski gets fitted with a turban by Jaspreet Singh, as Kanik Sharma holds the fabric, as part of the second annual Turban Day at the college’s centre core. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Members of the Sikh community at Lethbridge College on Friday hosted their second annual International Turban Day to share information on the turban’s cultural significance. 

Those who were interested could also have a turban tied onto their heads.

College research scientist and president of the Sikh Society of Lethbridge Alberta, Gurpreet Singh said during his opening speech that International Turban Day was created by the Sikh community in 2004 in response to negativity toward anyone wearing a turban in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in the Unites States. 

While talking to reporters after his remarks, Gurpreet said they were so happy with the turnout of last year’s event that they decided to do it again. 

“We didn’t imagine it to be such a huge success last year. It turned out to be really big for us and that motivated us to come back and do this,” said Gurpreet.

He said this year the Lethbridge College Students Association (LCSA) helped  a lot to organize the event and they are hoping to continue to grow. 

“We are planning to make it bigger next year by involving other ethnicities as well because turbans are not just limited to Sikhs,” said Gurpreet. 

He explained that while members of other cultures and faiths, including some Muslims and Hindus, may also wear turbans, for the members of the Sikh faith, donning a turban is a mandatory part of their religion and serves as a symbol of royalty and equality.

“Going bareheaded in front of your elders is not seen as a very respectable thing to do. You have to keep your hair, so that’s why we tie one as well,” said Gurpreet. 

He said there are multiple ways to tie a turban and it depends if the person is baptized or not, if it is worn in a formal attire, but also they can be worn informally and there are multiple colours to choose from. 

“Mostly white, blue and mustard yellow are associated with the Sikh religion, but otherwise they would match their fashion to look nice, because it’s not just religious, it’s also social,” said Singh. 

President of Sikh Students of Lethbridge Alberta at the Lethbridge College, Awalpreet Singh said the club is only four months old and so far they have 30 members and they were very happy to be able to take part in Turban Day. 

“I love when people ask me about turbans, why we tie turbans and things like that because there are many misconceptions about it,” said Awalpreet. 

He said one of the benefits of International Turban Day is learning about other cultures and the reasons they use turbans. 

“I think that when you learn about why other people do that, I don’t think there will be any conflict or name calling,” said Awalpreet. 

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