Thursday 30 July 2015

Rakshabandhan - An Indian Heritage

India is a country with diverse population and every community in the country has their own distinct festivals. The festivals reflect the unique culture of the nation and Rakshabandhan is also one such festival.


India is a country with a myriad population of different religions, creed and ethnicities. And each and every community has their own distinctive festivals which make the total number of festivals in the country almost above hundreds. In fact, the people in the country celebrate a number of festivals all year round and India is popularly known as the land of festivals. And every festival of the country is a reflection of its traditions and culture. Raksha Bandhan is also one such festival that highlights the rich heritage of India.



The festival is a celebration of the eternal bonds between brothers and sisters. The beautiful relationship between siblings has always been revered in Indian traditions and the festival is homage to it. On the occasion of Rakshabandhan it is the custom for the sisters to tie rakhis on the wrist of their brothers. The rakhi is a symbolism of binding the brother and sister to an everlasting relationship of love and protection. Rakshabandhan translates from Sanskrit as the tie or bond of protection, and after the rakhis are tied the brothers take pledges to protect their sisters from all harm. 


They also present their sisters with gifts in appreciation of the rakhis and wishes. People have followed the traditions of the festival throughout the centuries and they are still in practice today. 
Celebrating happy moments and joyous occasions with sweets is also another unique tradition of India. During Rakshabandhan also people exchange sweets with their family and friends. In olden times sweets were prepared in advance for the festival but nowadays rakhi sweets online shopping is almost the norm. In this modern age of computers, a number of internet gift shops provide sweets and other gifts for different occasions, and people order rakhi sweets online instead of preparing them at home or buying them from traditional shops.