The New Year is an inevitable part of the tradition of almost all nationalities in the world. Bengali New Year, i.e. Pahela Boishakh, is one of the festivals that carry the Bengali tradition. From time immemorial, Bengalis have been celebrating the first day of the month of Baishakh as the New Year. New Year is the bearer and carrier of thousands of years of Bengali history, traditions, customs, traditions, rituals and culture. Pohela Boishakh is the biggest public festival of Bengalis. On this day, Bengalis forget the failures, frustrations, filth and filth of the old year and welcome the new year with great joy, in the hope of attaining prosperity and happy life.
★History of Bengali Year:
According to most historians, Mughal Emperor Akbar was the initiator of Bengali Year or Bangabda. Entering the nineteenth year of his accession to the throne, he felt the urge to introduce the Bengali year mainly to facilitate the collection of rent. According to the order of the emperor, his emir Fatehullah Siraj introduced the Bengali year in line with the Soorsan and Hijri years. At the same time, he named the twelve months of Bengal in conjunction with the names of the stars. In that case, the name Boishakh has come to bear a resemblance to a star called Bishakha. The English year 1565 AD and the Bengali year 963 AH were introduced.
★Pahela Baishakh:
The celebration of Pahela Baishakh started from the time of Akbar. However, at that time it was mainly a festival of rent collection. So, although the idea of Bengali New Year is very ancient, the tradition of celebrating New Year did not become very popular before 198. In 1954, during the rule of the United Front government, the first public holiday was declared on the first day of Boishakh. Later, during the reign of Ayub, a ban was imposed on the celebration of the New Year. Above all, in protest of the cultural oppression and exploitation of the Pakistani ruling class, the first Baishakh became a national festival in 1967 with the New Year celebrations organized by Chayanat at the base of Ramna. At present, regardless of race, religion, caste, age, class, occupation, the first Boishakh has become the festival of the life of Bengalis.
★New Year Celebrations in the Capital:
Although New Year's festivities are closely associated with rural Bengal, the appeal of New Year celebrations has now spread beyond the village boundaries to the cities. Every year, the New Year festival of the capital begins with the song "Eso He Boishakh, Eso, Eso". The main organizer of the festival, Chhayanat Pahela, organized the event on the morning of Baishakh. 'Mars parade' is one of the inevitable part of the capital's New Year celebrations. The procession started from the Institute of Fine Arts on the morning of the first Baishakh at the initiative of the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University. Apart from teachers and students of Fine Arts and Dhaka University, people of different classes and professions participated in the procession. The first joyous procession organized by the Institute of Fine Arts in 1989 has been celebrated every year since 1995 under the name of Mars procession. In the Mars procession, the traditions of abhaman Bengal are brought to life through various symbolic works of art, colorful masks and replicas of various animals. Besides, various cultural organizations such as Bangla Academy, Shishu Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Bulbul Lalit Kala Academy etc. organize various programs throughout the day.
★New Year celebrations outside the capital:
Rural life and New Year are interrelated. In the New Year, there is a buzz among the rural people and villagers to eat new food and pithapuli. As much as possible, after wearing new clothes, friends, relatives, neighbors all meet each other with indescribable joy. New momentum was also added in the field of trade and commerce. In other cities outside Dhaka, the locals celebrate the New Year with great pomp. Various fairs and cultural competitions are organized in it.
★New Year and Small Ethnic Groups:
Apart from Bengalis, small ethnic groups also celebrate Bengali New Year with great enthusiasm. In the three hill districts (Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Rangamati) the New Year celebrations in the region are very much centered on Vaisavi. The Chakmaras call the New Year festival 'Bijhu', the Marmaras 'Sangrai' and the Tripuras call it Baisuk. Vaisabi is the combined name of these three festivals. Minorities celebrate their traditional religious and social festivals in a joyous atmosphere.
★Significance of New Year:
New Year is our national festival. Pahela Boishakh teaches secularism with our national consciousness and Bengali identity. On this day we can overcome this feeling that there is no particular religion or caste but only a single Bengali entity. With this day in mind, children can know the history of Bengali. New Year inspires new life in us. Above all, with the inspiration of the New Year, the latent human values among us are reawakened, harmony is formed in people.
New Year is not just a festival in our lives but it is a symbol of consciousness. By forgetting the differences between the people, the New Year inspires us with a sense of humanity. This day inspires us to stand by the side of poor, oppressed, helpless people. New Year is on the one hand a food of pure joy, on the other hand a bearer of consciousness. And so every Bengali should be aware that no cultural terrorism can consume our heritage.
