Secular Festivals:

Pahela Baishakh Bengali New Year Bengali calendar is a solar calendar. The advent of Bengali New Year is gaily observed throughout the country with great enthusiasm, which falls in mid-April. Its main characteristic is that it is a social festival and its appeal is universal. The Day is a public holiday. Most colorful daylong gatherings along with arrangement of cultural programs are special features of Pahela Baishakh. Fairs, tournaments, boat races etc. are held in cities and villages amidst great jubilation. On this day Dhaka City takes a festive look. The day starts with a cultural program at sunrise under the Banyan tree at central park of the city known as Ramna Park. The Bali Khela or wrestling, along with a fair, is held in Chittagong in the name of a famous anti-British rule nationalist called Jabbar. On the first day as well as in the first week of Baisakh, about 200 fairs are held throughout Bangladesh. The Halkhata function is another important feature of Pahela Baisakh which is observed by the merchant community. On this day, the customers pay some advance and the merchants treat them with sweetmeats.

21st Feb, the National Mourning Day and World Mother Language Day On 21st February of 1952 a massive procession was taken out, led by the Students Union of Dhaka University; and people from all walks of life joined spontaneously to protest against the declaration of Urdu as the sole State language of Pakistan. At that time Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan. The police opened fire on the demonstrators when they reached the location of the present day Shahid Minar (martyrs monument). As a result, five people lost their lives and several others were injured. Since then 21st February is observed throughout Bangladesh to pay respect and homage to the sacred souls of the martyrs of Language Movement of 1952. The Shahid Minar (martyrs monument) has been erected at the place where the martyrs shed their blood, and it has become the symbol of sacrifice for the mother tongue as well as any other sacrifice for a national interest. The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh. Mourning procession in Dhaka starts at midnight with the song Amar vaier raktay rangano ekushay February (21st February, the day stained with my brothers' blood). Nation pays homage to the martyrs by placing floral wreaths at the altar of the Shahid Minar. In 1996 the day has been declared World Mother Language Day by UNESCO.

Independence Day March 26 is the day of Independence of Bangladesh. This day is most befittingly observed by the government and the country wears a festive look. Military parade takes place at National parade

Ground. It is a public holiday. The inhabitants of Dhaka wake up early in the morning with the booming sound of guns heralding the day. People place floral wreaths at the National Martyrs Monument. Different programs are organized on these occasion at state as well as social and various organizational levels. At night the main public buildings of big cities and towns are illuminated.

Baisabi Festival Baisabi is the main social festival of the indigenous people living in the hill districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated by the Chakma and Tanchyanga tribes as "Biju", by Marma tribe as Shangra, and by Tripuras tribe as Baisuk or Baisu. Thus the festival has got its name, Baisabi. The festival is celebrated by the by the Chakma and Tanchyanga for three consecutive days the last two days of the month of Chaitra and the first day of the month of Baisakh. They never kill any living creature during these three days. The last day of Chaitra is celebrated as the main festival day. On this special day a mixed curry called Pachan is cooked with five types of vegetables. In the afternoon of the day, the teenagers play tag-of-war and traditional games. The Marma celebrate Shangrai for four days. They carry the image of Lord Buddha to the nearby river front and set down the image on a floating bed. Afterwards, they complete the bathing of the image in milk or sandalwood water and return with it to set it in the Temple or at homes. In every Marma locality, the water throwing starts with people throwing water at each other so that the previous year's sorrow will be washed away. The Baisuk festival of the Tripura tribe is celebrated by worshipping the god Shiva and asking for his blessings.

Rabindra & Nazrul Jayanti The birth anniversary, known as jayanti, of the noble laureate Poet Rabindranath Tagore on 25th Baishakh, falls in May; and that of the National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on 11th Jaystha, also falls in May, are observed throughout Bangladesh. Big gatherings and song and dance sessions organized by different socio-cultural organizations are salient features of the observance of these days. Tagore is the writer of our national anthem while National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam is famous as Rebel Poet.