The beautiful bond between brothers and sisters is celebrated in the country on the Bhai Dooj festival. Besides Raksha Bandhan, this is another festival solely celebrated to mark the never ending love and bonding between a brother and sister. The basic difference between the two festival is that on Raksha Bandhan, a brother promises to protect his sister while on Bhai Dooj, the festival is symbolic of an affirmation of a sister's protection of her brother's well being. This festival is primarily celebrated in the northern states of India.

The origination of the word Bhai Dooj comes from �Bhaiyya� or �Bhai� which means brother and the �Dooj� means second. In other words, the festival falls on the second day after Diwali, or the second day of the new moon. Every year depending on the new moon, the date falls, usually in the month of October or November. This year, bhai dooj falls on October 19th, 2010. It is a long awaited day for the sister. After all, it is a time when every whim of the sister is attended to and she is lavished with gifts and sweets!

The origin of the festival, also known as �Bhau Beej� or �Bhai Bij� is associated with many legends. On the second day after the new moon, Yamaraj went to his sister's house who welcomed him by putting an auspicious mark on his forehead for his welfare. It is also believed that Lord Krishna, after killing Narakasur, on this �Duj Day� went to his sister Subhadra who welcomed him with a lighted diya, flowers and sweets and putting on his forehead a tilak of her sisterly protection. Another legend is that when Bhagawaan Mahavir found nirvana, his brother Raja Nandivardhan was very upset and he was comforted by his sister Sudarshana. Since then, women have been deeply respected during this festival.

On this bhai dooj festival, sisters show their love for their brother by applying a tilak on the forehead of their brothers. This red tilak represents the safety and well being of the brothers from all evils. In return, brothers give their loving sister gifts and held them in the highest respect.