Raksha Bandhan & Friendship Day - Lets Heal The World

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Rachel- Hi Pip, what's that thread on your wrist, looks like friendship band.
Pip-Well, this is called Rakhi. Today I went to Neil’s place, his sister was tying rakhi on his wrist, she tied on mine too.
Rachel- Oh, Neil, I remember, isn’t he the one who came from India last year?
Pip- Yes, he came from India. So today is the festival of Raksha Bandhan, its celebrated in many parts of India.
Rachel- Whats the festival about?
Pip- Raksha Bandhan comprises of two hindi words, Raksha, means protection and bandhan means bond. So Raksha bandhan is a bond of protection, and Rakhi is its symbol. Just like you tie a friendship band on your friend’s wrist to show your love.
Similarly, a sister ties rakhi on her brother’s wrist and the brother pledges to protect her.
Rachel- And whats the sisters pledge?
Pip- She prays for the long and healthy life of her brother.
Rachel- Oh, I thought the sisters get a gift too.
Pip- Well, yes, the sister gets a gift from her brother. Neil gave a beautiful teddy bear to her sister.
Rachel- That’s great, you know what, I really like when my brother gives me a gift. And truly we help and protect each other too, mostly from the scolding of parents.
So, does Raksha bandhan fall on some specific day?
Pip- Yes, it falls in the lunar month of Shravan, or the month of August as we all know.
Rachel- Hey what a coincidence, Friendship Day is celebrated on the First Sunday of August.
Pip- Oh yes. And I never thought how similar these two festivals are.
Rachel- So is Raksha Bandhan a day of feast?
Pip- Good feast is part of any Indian festival. It usually includes, special Indian bread, vegetable rice with hints of spice, and off course, dessert is an important part.
Rachel- And what are Rakhis made of?
Pip- Generally, these are made of silken threads interwoven to give a beautiful look. You can find fancier rakhi for kids though.
Rachel- Similar again, the friendship bands are also made of thread.
Do you know the legend behind Raksha Bandhan
Pip- Well, there are some stories, like the Queen of Chittor, sent Rakhi to the emperor named Humayun, when Bahadur Shah was about to attack Chittor.
Rachel- So did Humayun protect Chittor?
Pip- Yes. There are many more stories related to Raksha Bandhan.
Rachel- That’s great to know how a string can establish a strong bond. Do you know how people started celebrating friendship day?
Pip- No. Tell me about it.
Rachel- Well, the idea of Friendship Day was given by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark Cards in the year 1930. But, the tradition of celebrating friendship day began in 1935, when the US congress decided to name a day to honour friends.
Pip- But what was the need.
Rachel- After the World War I, the people had stopped trusting each other, there was a lot of hatred and anger among people and also among nations. So, the US Congress marked the First Sunday of August as Friendship Day through a formal declaration. Later, other countries also joined the celebration and the Friendship Day began to be celebrated in other countries as well.
Pip- I was reading in a book about the International Friendship Day.
Rachel- Yes, the United Nations announced 30th July as the International Friendship day. This is celebrated to strengthen the bond of friendship among people of various countries, irrespective of their race, colour, gender, religion, ethnicity and other such factors.
Pip- In a way, this is an effort to make the world a better place to live.
Rachel- Absolutely. So, whether it is Raksha Bandhan or Friendship Day, the basic idea behind these is to protect our siblings and friends and live happily with others. Make the world a better place to live for the entire human race.
Pip- I know you took those lines from the song “heal the world”.
Rachel- Yes, it’s a beautiful song by Michael Jackson. You must listen to it, after watching this video.
Pip- So, all of you watching our video, do you have friends, or siblings…..i am sure you have….write one good quality of your friend or sibling in the comment box, and do thank them for being with you.
Rachel- If you want to know more about Raksha Bandhan and Friendship day, hop on to our website www.makemegenius.com. There is lots of good stuff and DIY activities waiting for you. But before you leave, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and press the bell icon.
By the way, do you know about La Tomatina….if not then make sure you do not miss our upcoming video. See you soon!