This is the thread ceremony. It is performed on the day of Rakshabandhan , or any other auspicious time. It is performed only for the boy child. The thread ceremony is carried out not earlier than eight years.
Some people perform it in the thirteenth or the sixteenth year.
Once the thread ceremony has been performed, the sacred thread is worn all through the life. The thread is made of separate strands of intertwined thread. Each strand separately stands for light, knowledge, right belief and conduct. The boy child is first blessed with mantras . Then the priest soaks the thread in water chanting mantras and continues to recite them as he puts the thread across the bosom of the boy, around his shoulders.