Lucknow : Bhai Dooj is one of the most prominent Hindu festivals of India which celebrates the bond between a sister and a brother.
On this day, sisters pray for the longevity and good fortune of their brothers and this year, Bhai Dooj will fall on October 21, Saturday.
For the ceremonies, the sisters practise a puja and perform a tika on their brothers and in exchange get gifts from their brothers.
Bhai Dooj is celebrated two days after Diwaliand is very similar to Raksha Bandhan as both the festivals celebrate the beautiful bond between siblings.
A celebration takes place after the puja rituals, which includes applying vermillion, dahi and rice on the forehead of the brother. Sweets and delicacies are handed around and gifts are exchanged afterwards along with the customary aarti that families perform. The siblings are supposed to touch their elders’ feet to get their blessings.
In Haryana , basically a special ritual also followed, a dry coconut(named as gola in regional language) with klewa tied along its width for worshipping is also used at the time of doing aarti of your brother.
The ceremony
On the day of the festival, sisters invite their brothers for a sumptuous meal often including their favorite dishes/sweets. The procedure may be different in bihar and central india. The whole ceremony signifies the duty of a brother to protect his sister, as well as a sister’s blessings for her brother.
Carrying forward the ceremony in traditional style, sisters perform aarti for their brother and apply a red tika on the brother’s forehead. This tika ceremony on the occasion of Bhai Bij signifies the sister’s sincerest prayers for the long and happy life of her brother and treat them with gifts. In return brothers bless their sisters and may treat them also with gifts or cash.
