Source: Toronto Star
On September 27, 2004 the Toronto Star reported, "About 50,000 Sikhs celebrated the 400th anniversary of Guru Granth Sahib, their holiest book, at a temple in Malton yesterday. With fireworks blasting and drums beating, a procession carrying the scriptures entered the temple grounds through an archway adorned with red and white balloons. Sikhs consider the writings not simply to be words, but a living guru. Before the holy book arrived, five men with flags, known as 'the five beloveds,' had their feet washed and covered in rose petals before marching down a carpeted area proclaiming the arrival of the Guru Granth Sahib. Then the book was removed from its place of honour in a decorated carriage and placed on the head of a holy man who carried the scriptures forward to a coveted place of honour on a dais under a tent at the Malton Gurdwara Sahib. Thousands of rose petals were strewn in the air as the scriptures passed by. 'It's a very momentous occasion,' said Avtar Singh Bhogal, a 70-year-old Sikh who had come in from Waterloo."