It is the feeling of love and affection that keeps relationships alive and no wonder majority of Indian festivals are dedicated to the beautiful relationships in our life. The relationship shared by a brother and sister is not only considered as pious as per Hindu customs, but is celebrated twice a year in the form of two well-known festivals -Raksha Bandhan and Bhai dooj.<\/p>\n
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Celebrated on the Shukla Paksha Dwitiya of Kartik month, Bhaidooj falls on the second day after Diwali and marks the end of five-day long celebration of Diwali. Bhaidooj is known by different names such as Bhav-Bij in Maharashtra, Bhai-pota in Bengal and Bhai Tikka in Nepal. As per various myths, Lord Yamaraj-God of Death paid a visit to his sister Yami on this day. His sister felt extremely happy on seeing her brother and welcomed him by performing traditional aarti ceremony and applying tilak on his forehead. She also served him lip smacking dishes and then they talked for hours together. It is believed that Lord Yama bequeathed various gifts to his sister and said that whosoever brother would pay a visit to his sister on this day shall be blessed with riches and long life. Since then, the day is also called as Yam-Dwitiya.<\/p>\n
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As per another legend Lord Krishna visited his beloved sister Subhadra after killing demon Narakasura. Subhadra welcomed her brother by performing aarti and applying tilak on his forehead.<\/p>\n
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As per the prevalent Hindu customs, sisters are visited by their brothers who are handed over with beautiful gifts by their brothers. The ceremony commences with an aarti, after which sisters apply a holy tika in the middle of their brothers\u2019 forehead to protect him from evils. Women, who do not have a brother, offer their prayers to the moon.<\/p>\n
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