Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations

Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations Bengali New Year 2010 Celebrations

Bengali New Year 2010
Bengali New Year is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, and in Bengali communities in Assam and Tripura.

Naba Barsha

Pohela Boishakh connects all ethnic Bengalis irrespective of religious and regional differences. It falls on April 14 or April 15 of the Gregoriancalendar depending on the use of the new amended or the old Bengali calendar respectively.In India, in West Bengal and Assam it is a public (state) holiday and is publicly celebrated on April 15 every year. In Bangladesh, it is celebrated on April 14 according to the official amendedcalendar designed by the Bangla Academy. In Bangladesh, Pohela Boishakh is a national holiday and in West Bengal and Assam it is a public (state) holiday

Bengali New Year Naba Barsha Traditions and Customs
Joyful and culturally rich people of West Bengal celebrate Naba Barsha by dutifully performing set customs and traditions. To welcome the New Year, people clean and decorate their houses. A very important tradition of Naba Varsha is the making of elaborate rangolis or alpanas in front of the house by womenfolk. Rangolis are prepared with flour and its center is adorned with earthenware pot decorated with auspicious swastika. This pot is filled with holy water and mango leaves to symbolize a prosperous year for the family. OnNaba Barsha, people of West Bengal propitiate Goddess Lakshmi – the Hindu mythological Goddess of Wealth to pray for prosperity and well being. Many devotees also take a dip in a nearby river to mark the occasion.

For Bengalis, Naba Barsha is the beginning of all business activities. Businessmen and traders purchase new accounting books and start new account known as Haalkhata. People also worship Lord Ganesha by chanting mantras.

Bengali New Year 2010 (Naba Barsha) Celebrations
Naba Barsha celebrations are marked with joy, enthusiasm and hope. Songs, dance, games besides reciting of poems are organized in various parts of the West Bengal to mark the occasion. Enthusiastic people of Bengal also celebrate the eve of Naba Varsha as Chaitra-Sankranti and bid farewell to the past year.

Early in the morning of Naba Barsha, Bengalis take out processions known as Prabhat Pheries. To participate in Prabhat Pheris ladies clad themselves in traditionalBengali sari (white sari with red border) and flowers in hair while men wear dhoti kurta. The day is spent in feasting and participating in cultural activities. People also visit friends and dear ones to wish each other “Shubho Nabo Barsho !!”