Pohela Falgun Explained

Pohela Falgun (bn|পহেলা ফাল্গুন|Pôhēlā Phālgun|First of [[Falgun]]), also spelled Poyla Falgun (bn|পয়লা ফাল্গুন|Pôẏlā Phālgun), is a festival observed the first day of Spring of the Bengali month of Falgun in Bangladesh.[1] The celebration was started in 1991 by students of Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Arts.[2] Before 2019, the first of Falgun used to fell on 13 February of the Gregorian Calendar,[3] however, from 2020 onwards, due to changes to the Bangladeshi calendars,Pohela Falgun is celebrated on 14 February, making the day celebrated with the Valentine's Day in the country.[4] In this day Bengalis are seen to wear traditional clothes consisting of yellow, red and even shades of orange. Some females even prefers to wear bangles and floral ornaments.

The festival is also celebrated in India's West Bengal as Basanta Utsab (bn|বসন্ত উৎসব||Spring Festival).

Etymology

In Bengali, Pohela stands for 'first' and 'Falgun' is the eleventh month of the Bengali calendar.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Pohela Falgun celebrated . The Daily Star . 14 February 2011.
  2. News: Falgun Fest at DU: How it all began. 13 February 2017. The Daily Star. 2017-04-19. en.
  3. Web site: Nepali Date Converter . banned-books.info . 2013-06-21.
  4. https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2020/02/10/pohela-falgun-to-be-celebrated-on-valentine-s-day Pohela Falgun to be celebrated on Valentine's Day, Dhaka Tribune, 10 February 2020