Pohela Boishakh

Pôhela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) is the first day of the Bengali calendar. It is on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April in other places. The holiday is celebrated in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also celebrated in Bengali communities in the other Indian states like Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and Odisha and all over India as well where the Bengali community is. It is the same day as the New Year's Days of many Southern Asian calendars.

Bengali New Year celebration in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday .

In Bengali, Pohela means ‘first’. Baisakh is the first month of the Bengali calendar.

Boishakhi fairs are held in many parts of the country. Various agricultural products, traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold at these fairs. The fairs also provide entertainment, with singers and dancers. They present folk songs. Among other attractions of these fairs are puppet shows and merry-go-rounds.

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