Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the ten living Sikh Gurus, was born on December 22nd 1666 in Patna, Bihar in India. His birth anniversary is celebrated as Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti every year. Unlike many of the other Sikh gurus, there is no argument over the date of the birthday of Gobind Singh. The original western calendar date was set using the Julian calendar in 1666 so there is some confusion on the date it is celebrated. The date translates to 1st January in the Gregorian calendar, but the holiday is observed on the date in the Hindu calendar on Saptami, Paush, Shukla Paksha, 1723 Vikram Samvat.
To further complicate matters, the Nanakshahi calendar fixed the birthday on January 5th, and then updated it to 6th January.
Gobind Singh was the tenth of the Sikh Gurus. Following the death of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Gobind Singh became the leader of the Sikhs when he was only nine years old. He is known as a warrior, poet, and philosopher. His contributions to Sikhism were significant including the tradition of covering ones hair with a turban. He started the Khalsa order, the highest order that can be reached by Sikhs. Khalsa must abide by four restrictions, not to disturb the natural growth of the hairs, not to eating meat slaughtered in a halal manner, not living with a person other than ones spouse and not using tobacco or a hookah.
Guru Gobind Singh died on October 7th 1708 from wounds inflicted by an assassin. Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti is celebrated to honour the contributions and teachings of Gobind Singh in Sikhism. Many events and prayers are organised in gurudwaras across India. It is a regional holiday across many states of India.