It's that time of the year again when brothers and sisters come together to celebrate the beautiful bond of love and protection - Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is a festival full of love and traditions, celebrated predominantly by Hindus in India and Nepal. The festival celebrates the loving bond between brothers and sisters as they tie a Rakhi thread on each other’s wrists.
This year, Raksha Bandhan in 2023 will be celebrated on August 30, 2023. This day marks the full moon day (Poornima tithi) of the Shravan month in the Hindu calendar, which falls usually in August or early September every year. The word ‘Raksha’ means protection while ‘Bandhan’ translates to bond. The festival symbolises this bond of protection between brothers and sisters, and also between cousins, relatives and friends.
The festivities are often accompanied by various poojas (prayers) performed by the sister for her brother’s long and prosperous life. Puja muhurat or timing for Raksha Bandhan 2023 will start on August 30 at 10:58 am and will end on August 31 at 7:05 am. This is the ideal time for performing puja rituals or tying rakhi threads to mark the occasion.
The actual rituals of Raksha Bandhan involve a sister tying a thread of love around her brother’s wrist as she prays for his well-being and safety. The brother, in turn, promises to protect her from all harm and gives a token gift to his sister in return. The sister can also tie Rakhi to cousins, relatives and friends who she wants to protect.
The festival is celebrated with joyous gaiety all over India and Nepal - with people preparing sweets, exchanging gifts and showering each other with love and affection. Sweets like laddoos, pedas, burfis and sweets made with milk powder are specially prepared on this day. Gifts such as sarees, jewellery, gadgets, chocolates etc are exchanged between brothers and sisters while they celebrate the joyous occasion.
So if you haven’t yet started prepping for Raksha Bandhan 2023 yet, it’s time to start. Begin shopping for gifts for your siblings or cousins, prepare some special sweets for this day or put your creative skills to work to make a unique rakhi for your brother or sister. Let us all come together to celebrate this beautiful festival of love and protection with an abundance of joy and happiness
