Bhai Dooj | |
---|---|
Also called | Bhai Tika, Bhau Beej, Bhai Phonta, Bhratri Dwitiya |
Observed by | Hindus |
Type | Religious |
Date | Kartika 2 (amanta tradition) Kartika 17 (purnimanta tradition) |
2023 date | 15 November (i.e. Kartik 29) |
Frequency | Annual |
Hindu festival dates The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day). Contents
Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar. | |
Bhai Dooj, Bhai Tika, Bhaubeej, Bhai Beej, Bhai Phonta or Bhratri Dwitiya is a festival celebrated by Hindus on the second lunar day of the Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight) of Kartika, the eighth month of the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar or the Shalivahana Shaka calendar. It is celebrated during the Diwali or Tihar festival and Holi festival. The celebrations of this day are similar to the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
In the southern part of India, the day is celebrated as Yama Dwitiya. [1] In the Kayastha community, two Bhai Doojs are celebrated. The more famous one comes on the second day after Diwali. But the lesser-known one is celebrated a day or two after Diwali. In Haryana and Uttar Pradesh a ritual also followed, a dry coconut (named gola in regional language) with klewa[ clarification needed ] tied along its width for worshipping is also used at the time of doing aarti of a brother. [2] In Bengal the day is celebrated as Bhai Phota, which comes one day after Kali Puja.
The festival is known as:
According to Hindu religion, after slaying the evil demon Narakasura, Lord Krishna visited his sister Subhadra who gave him a warm welcome with sweets and flowers. She also affectionately applied tilaka on Krishna's forehead. Some believe this to be the origin of the festival.
On the day of the festival, sisters invite their brothers for a sumptuous meal often including their favourite 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. [5]
Carrying forward the ceremony in traditional style, sisters perform arti 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, elder brothers bless their sisters and may treat them also with gifts or cash.
As it is customary in Haryana and Maharashtra to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Bhau-beej, women who do not have a brother worship the Moon Chandra instead. They apply mehendi on girls as their tradition. The sister whose brother lives far away from her and can not go to her house, sends her sincerest prayers for the long and happy life of her brother through the moon god. She performs aarti for the Moon. This is the reason why children of Hindu parents affectionately call the Moon Chandamama (Chanda means moon and mama means mother's brother).
Bhai Phonta in West Bengal is celebrated with much splendour. The ceremony is marked with many rituals along with a grand feast arranged for the brothers. It is necessary that, both brother and sister are more than 5 years of age. [6]
The festival of Bhai Bij is popular in Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa and is celebrated with great fervour and gaiety. Brothers and sisters look forward to the occasion with immense enthusiasm. To add charm to the occasion, Bhai Bij gifts are given to brothers from sisters as a token of love and appreciation. [7]
Bhav Bij is a time for family reunions as all brothers and sisters in the family get together. Close relatives and friends are also invited to celebrate the Bhav Bij in many families. Special dishes for the festival include the Maharashtra sweet called basundi poori or kheerni poori. [8] On this occasion, brothers and sisters exchange gifts. And both of them pray for their long and happy life. [9]
Bhai Tika in Nepal is also known as Bhai Tihar meaning Tihar (festival) of brothers. On this day, sisters pray to Yamraj for a long life and prosperity for their brothers. [10] The ritual involves sisters marking the forehead of their brothers with a seven coloured long tika. The rest of the ritual is similar to that performed by Hindus elsewhere. A special garland of the Gomphrena globosa flower is made by the sister as an offering to their brothers.
Rachel Fell McDermott, Professor of Asian Studies at Columbia University, describes Rabindranath Tagore's rakhi-bandhan ceremonies, inspired by the Bhai Dooj ritual, which were organized to protest the 1905 Partition of Bengal
In 1905 Rabindranath Tagore extended the symbolism of Brother's Second, a ritual of bonding between brothers and sisters that is celebrated right after the Pujas have concluded, to evoke friendship between Hindus and Muslims: members of both communities would tie red threads of brotherhood on each others' wrists. All throughout the partition period, these rakhi-bandhan ceremonies were regularly announced in the Bengali and English papers. In addition, some landlords, even the British Indian Association, saw that the boycott and emphasis upon swadeshi items were disturbing peace with rural Muslims in their areas, and withdrew their support. [11]
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions. It symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance". Diwali is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin and Kartika—between around mid-September and mid-November. The celebrations generally last five or six days.
Raksha Bandhan is a popular and traditionally Hindu annual rite or ceremony that is central to a festival of the same name celebrated in South Asia. It is also celebrated in other parts of the world significantly influenced by Hindu culture. On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman or amulet called the rakhi around the wrists of their brothers. They symbolically protect them, receive a gift in return, and traditionally invest the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.
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Tihar is a five-day Hindu festival of Diwali celebrated in Nepal and the Indian regions of Sikkim and Gorkhaland, which host a large number of ethnic Indian Gorkhas
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Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal and the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, South India, and Sri Lanka. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gurkhas of Myanmar. The festival is also referred as Nauratha, derived from the Sanskrit word for the same festival Navaratri which translates to Nine Nights. A version of this festival is celebrated as Navaratri, Navaratri is not exactly the same as Dashain. Most Americans call it Dussehra or Dashera by Hindus in India, although rites and rituals vary significantly.
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Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja or Kartika. The festival is especially popular in the region of West Bengal, and other places like Mithila and Anga of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, as well as the town of Titwala in Maharashtra, along with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh.
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