Pohela Boishakh marks the first day of the Bengali calendar, falling on April 14 or 15 depending on the solar calculation. The date became standardized under Emperor Akbar in 1556 to align agricultural tax collection with the harvest season. Dhaka hosts the largest celebration at Ramna Batamul, where Chhayanaut cultural organization has conducted sunrise performances since 1967, despite a 2001 bombing that killed ten people and injured over one hundred. The attack occurred during the Chhayanaut recital but did not halt subsequent celebrations. Businesses in Bangladesh close account books on Chaitra Sankranti, the day before Pohela Boishakh, settling debts before the new year begins. Shop owners offer halkhata, inviting customers to clear ledgers while serving sweets. The Mangal Shobhajatra procession began at Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Arts in 1989, declared UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016. Students construct papier-mâché effigies of animals, masks, and symbolic figures representing social commentary. The procession route extends from the faculty building through Shahbag intersection to the Old Dhaka Press Club, covering approximately three kilometers. Participants wear red and white clothing, the traditional Pohela Boishakh color scheme. Women apply alta red dye to their feet and wear white saris with red borders. Men wear white kurtas with red fotua vests. Vendors sell traditional Bengali sweets including roshogolla, sandesh, and mishti doi at roadside stalls. The Bengali calendar year count began in 593, corresponding to Akbar's accession year of 1556 in the Gregorian calendar. Bangladesh celebrates in 1431 Bengali year correlates to 2024 Gregorian.
Ekushey February commemorates February 21, 1952, when police in Dhaka fired on demonstrators protesting the imposition of Urdu as Pakistan's sole state language. The shooting occurred outside Dhaka Medical College, killing students Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abul Barkat, Abdul Jabbar, and Shafiur Rahman. Exact casualty counts vary in historical accounts, with police reports stating four deaths while witness testimonies describe higher numbers. The Central Shaheed Minar monument stands on the medical college grounds, designed by architect Hamidur Rahman with construction completed in 1963. Pakistani forces demolished the original 1952 memorial within days of its construction. The current structure features a central column flanked by four smaller columns representing the four confirmed dead students, though the architectural symbolism remains debated among historians. UNESCO designated February 21 as International Mother Language Day in 1999, following a proposal by Rafiqul Islam and other Bangladeshi expatriates. The Amar Ekushey Book Fair operates throughout February at Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka, spanning approximately one month with over five hundred publishers participating. Attendance figures from 2023 indicated thirty million visitors across the fair's duration. Publishing houses release new titles specifically for the fair, with Bengali literature dominating though English and translated works appear. Visitors walk barefoot to the Shaheed Minar beginning at midnight on February 21, placing flowers and singing "Amar Bhai Er Rokte Rangano," composed by Abdul Gaffar Choudhury with music by Altaf Mahmud. The procession continues from midnight through dawn, with political leaders, students, and citizens forming queues extending several kilometers from the monument.
Durga Puja occurs in September or October during the Bengali month of Ashwin, spanning five days from Shashthi to Dashami. Hindu communities in Bangladesh construct temporary pandals housing clay sculptures of Goddess Durga defeating the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Dhaka hosts approximately two hundred fifty major pujas according to Dhaka City Corporation permits, with Dhakeshwari Temple conducting the city's largest continuous puja since the temple's establishment in the twelfth century. The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad coordinates security and logistics across puja venues, working with law enforcement to station officers at major pandals. Clay artisans in Kumartuli neighborhoods of Dhaka and traditional potter communities in Faridpur district create the idols, beginning work three months before Puja dates. A ten-foot Durga idol requires approximately forty days of continuous sculpting and painting. The immersion ceremony on Dashami day sees devotees carry idols to rivers, with Dhaka processions converging at Sadarghat riverfront on the Buriganga River. The immersion at Dhakeshwari Temple involves a procession of approximately fifteen thousand participants traveling three kilometers to the river. Chittagong's Laldighi Maidan hosts a central puja attracting over one hundred thousand visitors across the five days. The Hindu population in Bangladesh numbers approximately fifteen million according to 2022 census preliminary data, representing twelve percent of the total population. Puja committees issue meal services called bhog, distributing khichuri with mixed vegetables to attendees regardless of religion. Participation extends beyond Hindu communities, with Muslim-majority neighborhoods hosting cultural programs during puja evenings.
Eid ul-Fitr concludes Ramadan on the first of Shawwal in the Islamic lunar calendar, determined by moon sighting conducted by the National Moon Sighting Committee. The committee meets on the twenty-ninth of Ramadan at the Islamic Foundation headquarters in Dhaka, with representatives observing from Teknaf to Tetulia. If the crescent remains invisible, Ramadan extends to thirty days automatically. Bangladesh observes three government holidays for Eid ul-Fitr. Dhaka experiences an exodus of approximately ten million residents traveling to home districts, according to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority estimates from 2023. Kamalapur Railway Station and Gabtali Bus Terminal operate additional services, with passenger loads exceeding capacity by two hundred percent during the three days preceding Eid. The National Eidgah at Dhaka's High Court area holds the capital's largest congregation, accommodating approximately three hundred thousand worshippers, though estimates vary. Prayers begin between seven and eight in the morning depending on sunrise times. The sermon addresses zakat al-fitr, the obligatory charity calculated at three point five kilograms of rice or staple grain per person. Families prepare traditional dishes including sheer korma, a vermicelli dessert with milk and dates, and biryani variations. Visits to relatives follow prayers, with younger family members receiving salami, cash gifts from elders.
Eid ul-Adha falls on the tenth of Dhul Hijjah, sixty-nine or seventy days after Eid ul-Fitr depending on lunar months. The holiday commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son, with observant Muslims performing animal sacrifice. Bangladesh sacrifices approximately ten million animals during the three-day period, primarily cattle and goats, based on Department of Livestock Services data. Cattle markets emerge in Dhaka at Gabtali, Mirpur, and along the Tongi-Ashulia highway two weeks before Eid, with some markets covering fifty acres. Prices for sacrificial cattle range from thirty thousand to several million taka depending on weight and breed, with Indian breeds commanding premiums. The hide collection industry operates through the Bangladesh Tanners Association, with proceeds traditionally donated to charitable organizations. Urban Dhaka generates approximately forty-five thousand tons of animal waste during Eid ul-Adha, managed by Dhaka North and South City Corporations deploying additional waste collection crews. Meat distribution follows Islamic guidelines allocating one-third to family, one-third to relatives and friends, one-third to those in need. Prayer timings and congregations mirror Eid ul-Fitr arrangements, though attendance typically measures lower as many residents remain in home districts after traveling for animal purchase.
Bishwa Ijtema convenes annually on the banks of the Turag River at Tongi, twelve kilometers north of Dhaka, during January. The Tablighi Jamaat organization conducts the three-day gathering, which began in 1946 at a smaller scale in Kakrail Mosque, Dhaka. Attendance expanded beyond venue capacity by the 1960s, prompting relocation to the Tongi riverbank site covering approximately one hundred sixty acres. Estimates of attendance reach five million participants across the event's duration, though precise counts remain unavailable due to open-entry format. Since 2011, organizers divide Ijtema into two phases separated by one week, each hosting separate groups of attendees to manage overcrowding after a 2010 stampede.