Rakhri

Rakhrhya Punjabi: ਰੱਖੜੀਆ
Examples of Rakhrhya
Official name	Rakhrhya
Also called	Rakhar punya
Observed by	Hindus, Sikhs, Christians
Date	Puniya (full moon) of Sawan ਸਾਵਨ ਪੁੰਨਿਆ
2016 date	Thursday, August 18
2017 date	Monday, August 7
2018 date	Sunday, August 26
2019 date	Thursday, August 15

Rakhri or Rakhrhee (Punjabi: ਰੱਖੜੀ) is the Punjabi word for Rakhi and a festival observed by Sikhs. In the Punjab region, the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated as Rakhrhya (Punjabi: ਰੱਖੜੀਆ).^[1] Rakhrhya is observed on the same day of the lunar month of Sawan. It, like Raksha Bandhan, celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. Rakhri means “to protect” whereby a brother promises to look out for his sister and in return, a sister prays for the well being of her brother. A Rakhri can also be tied on a cousin or an unrelated man. If a woman ties a Rakhri on an unrelated man, their relationship is treated as any other brother and sister relationship would be. The festival is a siblings-day comparable to Mother's day/Father's day/Grandparents day etc.^[2]

Celebration

A sister will tie the Rakhri on her brother and her brother will give a gift. Another feature of the celebration is the consumption of sweets.^[3] There is no special ceremony but a sister will sing folk songs^[4] and say something along the lines of:

Punjabi:

ਸੂਰਜ ਛੱਡੀਆਂ ਰਿਸ਼ਮਾਂ
ਮੂਲੀ ਛੱਡਿਆਂ ਬੀਅ
ਭੈਣ ਨੇ ਬੰਨੀ ਰੱਖੜੀ
ਜੁਗ ਜੁਗ ਵੀਰਾ ਜੀਅ
^[5]

Transliteration:

Suraj chhadya rishma
mooli chhadya bi
bhain ne banni rahkhree
jug jug veera ji

See also

• Raksha Bandhan
• Punjabi festivals
• Siblings Day

References