Raksha Bandhan

  

                                    Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is a Hindu festival that celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters. The festival is also mostly used to celebrate any brother-sister like loving protective relationship between men and women who are relatives. It is called Rakhi Purnima or Rakhi. Rakhi Purnima  is celebrated in all over in India .Rakhi Purnima is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and many Sikhs.Raksha Bandhan is  celebrated in India, Mauritius and parts of Nepal .Raksha Bandhan also celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs in many countres like Pakistan,U.S and by some people of Indian around the world.

  

Raksha Bandhan is an ancient festival it has historic legends link. For example, the Rajput queens practised the custom of sending rakhi threads to neighbouring rulers as token of brotherhood.On Rakhi Purnima or Raksha Bandhan,sisters tie a rakhi (sacred thread) on her brother's wrist. This symbolizes the sister's love and prayers for her brother's well-being, and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her.The Rakhi Purnima  falls on the full moon day (Shravan Poornima) of the Shravan month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar

The festival is also an occasion to celebrate brother-sister like family ties between cousins or distant family members,sometimes between biologically unrelated men and women 

Gifts 

The brother gives his sister(s) gifts such as cards, clothes, money, Jewellery or something thoughtful. The brother may also feed his sister, with his hands, one or more bites of sweets, dry fruits and other seasonal delicacies. The larger family ritually congratulate the festive celebration of brother-sister love and protection.

The brother(s) wear the Rakhi for the entire day, at school or work, as a reminder of their sister(s) and to mark the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

Rabindranath Tagore & Rakhi                 

Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian Nobel Laureate for literature, invoked Raksha Bandhan and Rakhi, as concepts to inspire love, respect and a vow of mutual protection between Hindus and Muslims during India's colonial era. In 1905, the British empire divided Bengal, a province of British India on the basis of religion. Rabindra Nath Tagore arranged a ceremony to celebrate Raksha Bandhan to strengthen the bond of love and togetherness between Hindus and Muslims of Bengal, and urge them to together protest the British empire. He used the idea of Raksha Bandhan to spread the feeling of brotherhood. In 1911, British colonial empire reversed the partition and unified Bengal, a unification that was opposed by Muslims of Bengal. Ultimately, Tagore's Raksha Bandhan-based appeals were unsuccessful. Bengal not only was split during the colonial era, one part became modern Bangladesh and predominantly Muslim country, the other a largely Hindu Indian state of West Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore started Rakhi Mahotsavas as a symbol of Bengal unity, and as a larger community festival of harmony. In parts of West Bengal, his tradition continues as people tie Rakhis to their neighbors and close friends.

One of Tagore's poem 

                                   wish you happy Raksha Bandhan