List of festivals in Bangladesh

This is a list of festivals in Bangladesh. Almost everyone in Bangladesh has come across the saying “Bangalir baro mashe tero parbon (Bengali: বাঙালির বারো মাসে তেরো পার্বণ)”, which roughly translates to "Bengalis have thirteen festivals in twelve months (a year)". Bangladesh is a country of colourful celebrations. The people celebrate their faith, life, liberty, nature, elation, and achievements round the year through a wide variety of fairs and festivals, organized with enthusiasm and intricate details. Some Bengali fairs and festivals have a recorded history of over 2000 years. Festivals in Bangladesh fall into four major categories: religious festivals, national events, cultural festivals and tribal festivals. Although a few festivals are primarily meant for particular sections of the population, all the festivals have now attained universal reach throughout the country.

Religious observance

 

Eid prayer in Comilla

 

Durga puja in Dhakeshwari Temple, Dhaka

Muslim

• Eid ul-Fitr (Bengali: ঈদুল ফিতর/রোজার ঈদ) - on the 1st day of Shawwal month of the lunar Islamic calendar.^[1]
• Eid ul-Adha (Bengali: ঈদুল আজহার/কোরবানি)- on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah month of the Islamic calendar.^[2]
• Chaand Raat (Bengali: চাঁদ রাত)- on the 29th or 30th night of Ramadan month of the Islamic calendar.^[3]
• Ashura (Bengali: আশুরা)- on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar.^[4]
• Eid-e-Meeladun Nabi (Bengali: ঈদে মিলাদুন্নবি)– The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad^[5]
• Shab-e-Qadr^[6] (Bengali: শবে কদর)
• Shab-e-Barat^[7] (Bengali: শবে বরাত)
• Bishwa Ijtema^[8](Bengali: বিশ্ব ইজতেমা)

Hindu

• Durga Puja - from the 2nd to the 7th day of Ashwin month of the Hindu calendar.^[9]
• Krishna Janmashtami - celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna^[10]
• Dolyatra^[11]
• Ratha Yatra, the most popular being Dhamrai Rathayatra.^[1]
• Kali Puja in Diwali^[12]
• Saraswati Puja^[13]
• Ashtami Snan on Chaitra Shukla Paksha Ashtami (ninth day during the waxing phase of moon in Chaitra Month) as per Hindu Lunar Calendar^[14]

Buddhist

• Buddha Purnima - Buddha's Birthday^[15]
• Madhu Purnima^[16]
• Kathin Chibardan - offering of woven robe made of cotton to monks and nuns.^[17]

Christian

• Boro Din or Christmas - on 25 December of the Gregorian calendar.^[18]
• Easter Sunday^[19]

Patriotic and National Observances

• Language Movement Day - (International Mother Language Day); Colours worn:    ^[20]
• Genocide Remembrance Day; Colours worn:    
• National day of mourning (15 August); Colours worn:    
• Independence Day; Colours worn:      ^[21]
• Armed Forces Day^[22]
• Martyred Intellectuals Day; Colours worn:    ^[23]
• Victory Day; Colours worn:      ^[24]

Cultural festivals

 

Celebrations of Pahela Baishakh at Dhaka

 

Bangladeshi girls taking Selfie at Pahela Falgun festival.

General

• Rokeya Day
• Rabindra Jayanti
• Nazrul Jayanti

Music

• Dhaka World Music Festival (music)^[25]
• Bengal Classical Music Festival^[26]
• International Folk Festival^[27][28]

Folk

• Pahela Baishakh - on the 1st day of the Bengali calendar and summer festival; also called Bangla Noboborsho; Colours worn:   ^[29]
• Boshonto Utshob - Spring festival also known as Pohela Falgun; Colours worn:   ^[30]
• Nabanna - Winter and harvest festival; Colours worn:   ^[31]
• Borsha Utshob - Monsoon festival; Colours worn:   
• Nouka Baich - Boat racing festivals held after the monsoon when rivers are filled

Others

• Bengal Original Culture Festival^[32]
• Cinemaking International Film Festival^[33]
• Dhaka Festival^[34]
• Dhaka Art Summit^[35]
• Hay Festival Dhaka^[36]
• Dhaka Fashion Week^[37]
• Dhaka International Film Festival^[38]
• Chobi Mela International Photography Festival^[39]
• CRACK International Art Camp
• International Children's Film Festival Bangladesh
• Bioscope Children's Photography Festival
• Latin Dance Festival ^[40]

Fairs

 

Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka

• Ekushey Book Fair - in Dhaka on the month of February of the Gregorian calendar.^[41]
• Dhaka International Trade Fair^[42]
• National Tree Fair - Month-long National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair.
• National Fisheries Week and Fish Fair - Week-long National Fiash Trade and Fair.^[43][44]

Local events

 

Shakrain kite festival, Dhaka

• Shakrain — in Dhaka at the end of the Poush of the Bengali calendar.^[45]
• Jatiya Pitha Utsab — National Pitha (Cake) Festival.^[46]
• Charak — 3-day-long festival in Pabna starting on the last day of the Bangla month of Chaitra.^[47]
• Joy Bangla Concert — annual concert to mark the 7 March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
• Nouka Baich^[48]
• Bisu Mela^[49]

Public holidays

• Public holidays in Bangladesh

References

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2. "Eid ul-Adha helps Bangladesh farmers - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
3. "Chaand Raat in Old Dhaka". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
4. "Holy Ashura on Oct 24". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
5. "Bangladesh forces arrest 7 militants during raid on JMB hideout". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
6. "Dhaka yet to get over Eid hangover despite end of holidays". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
7. "Try old town bakeries this Shab-e-Barat". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
8. "What is the festival of Bishwa Ijtema and where is it held?". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
9. "Durga Puja public holiday on Oct 21". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
10. "Janmashtami being celebrated". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
11. Rahman, Aunik. "Dolyatra". www.ebanglapedia.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
12. "Kali Puja in the time of Diwali". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
13. "Saraswati Puja celebration across the country". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
14. "Holy Ashtami Snan starts tomorrow". The Daily Star. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
15. "Tolerance in Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
16. "Madhu Purnima - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
17. "News Details". www.bssnews.net. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
18. AsiaNews.it. "BANGLADESH Christmas among banana trees and under bamboo stars". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
19. "Christians observe Easter Sunday". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
20. "Bangladesh pays tribute to Language Movement martyrs". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
21. "5 militants held in Bangladesh, authorities suspect they had planned attacks on the country's Independence Day - Firstpost". Firstpost. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
22. "Armed Forces Day being marked". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
23. "Martyred Intellectuals Day observed in Bangladesh". dna. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
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25. "A World of Music Descends on Dhaka". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
26. "Bengal ITC SRA Classical Music Fest ends on a high note". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
27. "Dhaka International Folk Fest". beautifulbangladesh.gov.bd. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
28. "Dhaka International Folk Fest | Dhaka, Bangladesh Events". Lonely Planet.
29. "Ushering in Noboborsho in a thousand voices". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
30. "Pohela Falgun being celebrated". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
31. "Nobanno celebrations in Chittagong". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
32. "1st Bengali Original Cultural Festival ends". Daily Sun. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
33. "Award of Cinemaking International Film Festival announced". TheIndependent. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
34. "The Festival organized by Dhaka Festival". UNB. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
35. "The Dhaka Art Summit Gives Bangladesh A Global Spotlight". Forbes. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
36. "Hay Festival to begin November 20". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
37. "Dhaka Fashion Week 2011 (PHOTOS)". International Business Times. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
38. "Dhaka International Film Festival begins". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
39. "Capturing the essence of resistance". Tehelka - Investigations, Latest News, Politics, Analysis, Blogs, Culture, Photos, Videos, Podcasts. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
40. "Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba and the world of ballroom dance". The Financial Express. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
41. "Hundreds of thousands throng Ekushey Book Fair at the end". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
42. "PM inaugurates Dhaka International Trade Fair 2016". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
43. "National fisheries week 2018: Ilish production up by 150%". Dhaka Tribune. 24 July 2018.
44. "Maintain global standard in fish production for export: PM". The Daily Star. 18 July 2019.
45. . RYOT News. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
46. "Jatiya Pitha Utsab". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
47. Topu, Ahmed Humayun Kabir (13 April 2023). "3-day Charak festival kicks off in Pabna". The Daily Star. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
48. "Of boats and paddles". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
49. "All set to welcome Bangla New Year - New Age". New Age. Retrieved 19 March 2016.