Bengali New Year 2021 | Pohela Baisakh

Bengali New Year 2021 is on April 15 Thursday

This is one special celebration in which all Bengalis take part. It usually falls on the 14th or 15th of April every year and is celebrated with a lot of pomp. This marks the New Year and is one of the biggest festivals that you would witness in Bengal.

In Bengali, the name Poila can be translated as First and then Baisakh is the first month of the Bengali Calendar. So, when brought together – the festival is named Poila Baisakhi or Pahela Baisakhi or even Pohela Baisakhi.

Significance of Pahela Baisakh

Since this is the harvest festival, people pray to Lord Ganesha and also to Goddess Laxmi so that their life and households are filled with God’s blessings.

On this day, a lot of prayers are chanted as people believe this will bring in happiness, good health, long lives, and then prosperous lives. Once prayers are over, it is considered an auspicious day to begin new ventures and even clear off old loans.

They believe the beginning of the month is a day that should be welcomed properly and then the whole year will be fine.

Rituals

• In the morning, the day starts off by believers watching the first-morning rising sun, as they believe it will be auspicious.
• After this, a religious procession is undertaken and such a clustered procession is called Prabhat Pheris. This is really worth the watch!
• The attire is one of a kind as Garad sarees are worn by women. These are white sarees with bright red borders. They decorate their hair with fresh flowers.
• Women adorn themselves with large gold earrings and heavy jewelry that is mostly gold. They look elegant and this is accompanied by some white pearls.
• Men dress in traditional kurtas and dhotis and these are mostly white in color.
• Men wear ‘tikka’ that is obtained at the temple.
• After the procession, the men and women sing songs and dance to various traditional folk songs.
• Apart from this, a grand breakfast is prepared by the women in the households. This meal consists of rice, fish, green chilies, onions, and certain sweets.
• Rangolis are prepared in the home ad sometimes in front of the home and this is being followed even to this date.
• The rest of the day is spent visiting relatives and also eating and sharing good food.
• Dance programs rule the evenings of the special day. From folk songs to skits and even traditional theatre performances can be witnessed in the prominent towns of Bengal.