In Europe, the holiday was launched in 2014 by the European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC) to celebrate siblings bonds and relationships. The May 31 feast spread in different ways in the European countries where ELFAC is present. In Portugal, Dia dos Irmãos has become very popular and the President of Republic of Portugal has greeted it publicly, in 2016 and 2017.
ELFAC has associate members in several European countries: Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Switzerland. But adherence to the date and spirit of May 31 is open to any other European or non-European country.Date April 10
Frequency Annual
Related to In honorees: Raksha Bandhan
In history and celebrations: Children's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Parents' Day
Significance Honoring bonds and relationships of siblings
Date May 31
Frequency Annual
Related to In honorees: Raksha Bandhan
In history and celebrations: Children's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Parents' Day
Raksha Bandhan, is a popular, traditionally Hindu, annual rite, or ceremony, which is central to a festival of the same name celebrated in South Asia, and 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, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.
Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. The expression "Raksha Bandhan," Sanskrit, literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care," is now principally applied to this ritual. Until the mid-20th-century, the expression was more commonly applied to a similar ritual, also held on the same day, with precedence in ancient Hindu texts, in which a domestic priest ties amulets, charms, or threads on the wrists of his patrons, or changes their sacred thread, and receives gifts of money; in some places, this is still the case. In contrast, the sister-brother festival, with origins in folk culture, had names which varied with location, with some rendered as Saluno, Silono, and Rakri. A ritual associated with Saluno included the sisters placing shoots of barley behind the ears of their brothers.
Of special significance to married women, Raksha Bandhan is rooted in the practice of territorial or village exogamy, in which a bride marries out of her natal village or town, and her parents, by custom, do not visit her in her married home. In rural north India, where village exogamy is strongly prevalent, large numbers of married Hindu women travel back to their parents' homes every year for the ceremony. Their brothers, who typically live with the parents or nearby, sometimes travel to their sisters' married home to escort them back. Many younger married women arrive a few weeks earlier at their natal homes and stay until the ceremony. The brothers serve as lifelong intermediaries between their sisters' married and parental homes, as well as potential stewards of their security.
In urban India, where families are increasingly nuclear, the festival has become more symbolic, but continues to be highly popular. The rituals associated with this festival have spread beyond their traditional regions and have been transformed through technology and migration, the movies, social interaction, and promotion by politicized Hinduism, as well as by the nation state.
Among women and men who are not blood relatives, there is also a transformed tradition of voluntary kin relations, achieved through the tying of rakhi amulets, which have cut across caste and class lines, and Hindu and Muslim divisions. In some communities or contexts, other figures, such as a matriarch, or a person in authority, can be included in the ceremony in ritual acknowledgement of their benefaction.Arushi Kapoor
Exchange rakhis with one another.
Instead of giving in to the insinuation that a sister needs to be guarded by the brother, why not use the rakhi as a symbol of mutual respect and love? This time around, tie a rakhi on one another – tie one on your brother’s wrist, and get one tied on yours as well. Promise to be there for one another in times of need and make a pact to be each other’s support system, always.
All siblings should celebrate.
While Rakhi is a beautiful festival which celebrates the sibling relationship, it is heavily one-dimensional in its approach to what kind of sibling can celebrate. This time instead of restricting your rakhi celebration to brother and sister, try including all sibling combinations and celebrate the fact that you’ve made it so far without killing each other. Ladies, tie a rakhi around your sister’s wrist and guys, get one for your brother. Break away from convention and just celebrate the idea of you having a friend for life who’s always going to be there for you.
Make gifting universal.
Rakhi often puts pressure on the brother to pour his savings into the perfect gift or the ideal amount of cash for the sister. Not anymore, we say. We think an egalitarian and mutual gifting system should totally get a green signal for the festival. Instead of only letting your brother let go of a chunk of his earnings, get him a little something too, this Rakhi. This is the only day you can get away with telling your sibling you love them, why not make the most of it?
Do something you enjoy with your sibling.
This Rakhi, take your brother out for a movie, get together with your sister for a spa date, get your siblings or cousins together and head to an amusement park, and so on. After the traditional festivities are done, celebrate with your siblings and genuinely enjoy their company with things you both or all love doing together.
Rakhi, the friendship band
The month of August. The month of celebration of friendship, love and fraternity. The time when girls tie a « rakhi » on the wrist of a brother on a full moon’s day. A bracelet, a sign for asking for protection, a symbol of affection which has a long story which goes back 6000 years. A band which is woven, which is at first imagined and which is achieved with the accessories found. Threads are often made of silk, at times semi-precious stones are also added.
Initially, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi was a Hindu festival only dedicated to love between brother and sister. While she ties a band/ bracelet woven by her hands around the wrist of her brother, a sister repeats a mantra and asks for protection from the brother. This exchange of wishes takes effect as soon as the knot is made and vanishes after a year.Today, fraternal ties are no longer the only ones to be celebrated. Thus, rakhis are also tied between a priest and members of his congregation, between close friends, between women and the prime minister or even soldiers.
Wrists are adorned, love is expressed. It is an event with which No-Mad loves to associate with joy, inspiration and respect. For this festival to mark friendship, No-Mad also sells rakhis, colored as well as decorated ones with sequins. Ornamental trimmings woven and embroidered by hand by members of the association Samajhna. A small piece,full of meaning, designed by Valérie Barkowski.
Did you know about the history and the stories related to Raksha Bandhan? If not, then today is an ideal day to find out the true significance of this holy practice. Check out.
by Pinkvilla Desk | Aug 27, 2018
There is love which is hidden, love which is whispered. During Raksha bandhan, love and friendship are demonstrated through a band loaded with meaning. No-Mad imagines this link and embodies it in a colored, sequined bracelet.
The month of August. The month of celebration of friendship, love and fraternity. The time when girls tie a « rakhi » on the wrist of a brother on a full moon’s day. A bracelet, a sign for asking for protection, a symbol of affection which has a long story which goes back 6000 years. A band which is woven, which is at first imagined and which is achieved with the accessories found. Threads are often made of silk, at times semi-precious stones are also added.
Initially, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi was a Hindu festival only dedicated to love between brother and sister. While she ties a band/ bracelet woven by her hands around the wrist of her brother, a sister repeats a mantra and asks for protection from the brother. This exchange of wishes takes effect as soon as the knot is made and vanishes after a year.Today, fraternal ties are no longer the only ones to be celebrated. Thus, rakhis are also tied between a priest and members of his congregation, between close friends, between women and the prime minister or even soldiers.
Wrists are adorned, love is expressed. It is an event with which No-Mad loves to associate with joy, inspiration and respect. For this festival to mark friendship, No-Mad also sells rakhis, colored as well as decorated ones with sequins. Ornamental trimmings woven and embroidered by hand by members of the association Samajhna. A small piece,full of meaning, designed by Valérie Barkowski.
by Pinkvilla Desk | Aug 27, 2018
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