Source: www.sj-r.com
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, USA, August 2, 2009: Dr. Dharmendra Nimavat says he doesn’t expect his children to fully understand all of the meaning behind Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu festival the family will celebrate Wednesday. But when his young daughters tie bracelets of silk, cotton and plastic — called rakhis — around the wrist of their brother, they will be tapping into a tradition more than 6,000 years old, a ceremony that is performed annually all one’s life.
The festival celebrates the affection and love between brothers and sisters. Brothers promise to protect sisters from whatever harms and troubles life throws their ways, while sisters pray for their brothers’ protection from evils. These traditions also take place between cousins, especially when one has no brother or sister. The name Raksha Bandhan comes from Sanskrit and literally means “bond of protection.”
While it is cause for festive merrymaking, particularly in northern India — a sort of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one — the day will be more low-key in Springfield, with the rakhi ritual in the morning and a trip to the Hindu temple in Chatham later in the day. “It’s a family festival,” says Ramesh Genge, a Springfield Hindu. “It promotes good things about siblings.”
Hindus celebrate Raksha Bandhan during the Hindu month of Shravan (usually late July or early August on the Western calendar), the monsoon season, or holy season. Many Indian festivals are celebrated during this season.
You can read about some great ideas on how to make your own rakhis here