Pohela Falgun

Bangladeshi girls wearing traditional saree taking a selfie at a Pohela Falgun festival.

Pohela Falgun (Bengali: পহেলা ফাল্গুন, romanizedPôhēlā Phālgun, lit.'First of Falgun'), also spelled Poyla Falgun (Bengali: পয়লা ফাল্গুন, romanizedPôẏlā 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 (Bengali: বসন্ত উৎসব, lit.'Spring Festival').

Etymology

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pohela Falgun celebrated". The Daily Star. 14 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Falgun Fest at DU: How it all began". The Daily Star. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  3. ^ "Nepali Date Converter". banned-books.info. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  4. ^ Pohela Falgun to be celebrated on Valentine's Day, Dhaka Tribune, 10 February 2020