Rakhi Day, as my sister calls it, or Raksha Bandhan is an Indian occasion that celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. The ceremony involves tying a rakhi (decorated tread/bracelet) around your brother's wrist, feeding him a few sweets and applying a tika (vermilion or saffron dot) to his forehead. These gestures symbolize her love and a promise to care for him. In return, the brother offers his sisters a gift as a promise to look after and care for her(in my family's case usually money :D). See wikipedia article for a more complete description.
In my immediate family I have only one sister, but my cousin brother lives locally so we tie rakhis for him. Also, my dad and uncle's sisters live half way across the country and half way across the world, so we 3 sisters ( me, my sister and older cousin sister) tie rakhis for our dads on their behalf.
My mom makes a rakhi every year to send to her brother. You can buy them in Indian grocery stores, but she's a craft savvy and creative person and enjoys the extra gesture of sending something homemade. I've picked up on her tradition and make my rakhis as well.
MATERIALS:
FINISHED PRODUCT:
This Rakhi was super simple to make, no gluing or sewing required. I simply wove the ribbon through the middle of the lace which conveniently had little elastic bands running through it. If your going to make a rakhi, be sure to cut the ribbon long enough to go around your brother's wrist and tie easily.
In my immediate family I have only one sister, but my cousin brother lives locally so we tie rakhis for him. Also, my dad and uncle's sisters live half way across the country and half way across the world, so we 3 sisters ( me, my sister and older cousin sister) tie rakhis for our dads on their behalf.
My mom makes a rakhi every year to send to her brother. You can buy them in Indian grocery stores, but she's a craft savvy and creative person and enjoys the extra gesture of sending something homemade. I've picked up on her tradition and make my rakhis as well.
MATERIALS:
- Ribbon
- Craft Glue
- Decorative Lace
- Gift Wrap
- Left over material from altering my sister's lengha
Really, I just looked around the house for pretty, shiny, sparkly items. So the main materials you really need are ribbon, craft glue and some creativity.
FINISHED PRODUCT:
This Rakhi required some gluing. I cut out around the peppermint candy design on the wrapping paper and glued it to the gold ribbon. I then glued the gold flower bootie (I swear that's what they call them in Hindi). Next I cut out the gem stone and sequin circle from my sister's scrap lengha piece and glued it on top.
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