Why women celebrate Bhaiya Dooj

Most of you would have seen Tom and Jerry, what does that remind you? If my guess is right, you were just thinking about a brother and a sister. Remember, those silly fights over food, money, and sneak-outs at nights? These are just a few of some very sweet and precious memories that we all still have. The fondest memories are of special occasions like Raksha Bandhan and Bhaiya Dooj. The purpose of celebrating Bhaiya Dooj is to cement the solid bond between brothers and sisters. The holy festival of Bhai-Dooj is celebrated two days after Diwali. On this day, a sister applies 'Tilak' (a mixture of holy turmeric and rice seeds) on her brother's forehead and wishes for his long life, success and health. This year Bhaiya Dooj is being celebrated on November 15. The history goes way back, when sisters used to prepare for this day even before Diwali and on this day, they used to specially prepare special dishes and sweets for their beloved brothers. According to old traditions, the day starts with the auspicious 'Govardhan Pooja', after which sisters used to specially pray to Lord Yama (God of Death) for the safe and long life of their brothers. After the prayer, the sister applies 'Tilak' and offers sweets to her brother. It serves as homage to the pious brother-sister relationship. There is this old saying that Lord Sun and his wife Goddess Chhaya bore two children, son Lord 'Yama', and daughter Goddess 'Yamuna'. Every year Yamuna insisted her brother to come to her house for lunch, but due to his responsibilities (taking note of death of human beings), he always had to excuse himself from the visit. Once Goddess 'Yamuna' got very angry and was upset over his brother and that year she didn't invite him for lunch. Feeling his guilt on upsetting ‘Yamuna', Lord 'Yama' decided to pay a surprise visit to his sister, after the Diwali festivites. That day no human being died as Lord 'Yama' was busy visiting his sister. Goddess Yamuna was so happy that she prepared numerous dishes for her brother and prayed for his long life and asked him to come and visit every year this day. Since then this day is celebrated as Bhaiya-Dooj, when every Hindu sister prays for the long life of her brother and seek blessings from Lord 'Yama'. This occasion is also known as Bhau-Bheej and ever since has been celebrated on the last day of the 5-day long Diwali celebrations. On this day, girls decorate their houses and prepare mouth-watering sweets especially for their brothers. Earlier even brothers used to excitedly await this occasion for buying gifts and jewellery for their sisters. They used to save their pocket money in order to buy something in return. Nowadays, the pious occasion is restricted to just phone calls, e-mails, couriers, and e-greetings. The significance has been blurred with the advent of internet, cellphones and iPhones. This Bhaiya Dooj, we hope each sister gets to meet her brothers and celebrate this day with sincerity and devotion. Happy Bhaiya Dooj!