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 Baisakh is the first month of Bengali calender. The first day of Baisakh is celebrated as Poila Baisakh which may be called the Bengali new year day.Being an auspicious day and the beginning of a new year, i business community starts Halkhata ( the accountation), after offering puja, on that day. |
Halkhata
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Holi is a pan Indian festival.In Bengal this is popularly known as Dolotsava . This festival is associated with the legend of Lord Krishna .
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Holi
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Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan is observed in Bengal with great enthusiasm along with the rest of the country.It is believed that the tying of the thread ,on that day, on the wrist of the brother by the sister is to give protection to the brother against all odds in life.
But Raksha Bandhan acquired a special significace in Bengal when Rabindranath proposed the tying of a thread by the sisters of undivided Bengal to the brothers irrespective of any religion ,as a protest against Lord Curzon’s proposal to dive Bengal on the basis of religion in 1905. |
Rakhi
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Bhaiphonta or Bhatri Dwitiya is celebrated,immidiately after Kali puja on the second day of the light fortnight. Sisters pray for the well-being and protection of their brothers by putting a phonta on their brothers’ forehead. Brothers, especially employed brothers, give money or gift to their sisters. |
Bhaiphonta
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Ratha Jatra is the festival held in the second day after the new moon in the early rainy season. It is a celebration in honour of Lord Jagannath’s Chariot procession to his maternal uncle’s house.
The festival begins with the Ratha Prathistha or invoking ceremony in the morning and the chariot pulling begins in the late afternoon with idols of Jagannath, his elder brother Balaram and younger sister Subhadra inside the chariot. After a week, the Lord comes back home. This coming back is celebrated as Ulto Rath. |
Ratha Jatra
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Rash is a festival commemorating the marvelous deeds of Lord Krishna. It is normally held in November-December. On the occasion of Rash , fairs are held in different parts of Bengal. The fairs are almost month-long.
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On the occasion of Jamaisashthi, the entire family gets involved in preparing to welcome the son-in law of the house. It is an important social cstom. The 'jamai' or the son-in-law is treated with his favourite delicacies by his in-laws specially to ensure that he treats their daughter with due respect for the rest of the year. As a social custom, it is held in the Bengali month of 'Jaistha' (May-June every year).
The menu includes various ‘fish delicacies', and special jamaishasthi 'sondesh'. Lavish gifts are given to the son-in-law & he too in return gifts his mother-in-law. On the arrival of the daughter and son-in-law a brief social ritual was performed. The son-in-law was given five fruits followed by 'aashirbad' with 'dhan and dubbo'. A mark or a "phota" with curd was applied on the forehead of the son-in-law and a yellow thread tied around his wrist. These rituals are still performed.
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Durga Puja ,the major religious/social festival of Bengal, is usually observed in the month of Ashwina .The mother goddes comes from Kailash to her father’s house on the day of sasthi and stays there for three days i.e Saptami ,ashtami and nabami and goes back to her husband’s house on Dashami. |
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Kali Puja , which falls on the month of Kartika( November), is perfomed on a new moonlight day. Kali, the black earth mother has a terrifying appearance.Animals are offered to goddes Kali as sacrificial killing on that day. Kali is believed to be the symbol of fertility. |
Kali Puja
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Saraswati , the goddes of learning is worshipped with great enthusiasm in the educational institutions,offices, clubs and at home all over Bengal on the Magha Pancami day.Offering of anjali to the goddess Saraswati for good future and better performance in studies is an important part of the puja. |
Saraswati Puja
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Lokkhi, the goddes of wealth and daughter of Durga, is worshipped within a fortnight of Durga Puja on the Kojagari purnima day. Besides at time, it is customary to celebrate goddes Lakshmi in the places where Durga Puja takes place. |
Lokkhi Puja
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Worshipping goddess Jagaddhatri, another form of goddess Durga, was made popular in Bengal by Maharaja Krishnachandra of Nadia. |
Jagaddhatri Puja
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Id is the most celebrated festival of the Muslims of West Bengal. Muslims celebrate id thrice in a year. One is the Id-ul-Fitr ,the other one is the Bakrid or Id-Ul-Zuha and the last one is Id-i-Milad .
Id-ul-Fitr comes after the lapse of the Ramjan month and marks a happy communion after a month of fasting. The Muslims celebrate Id ul-Fitr on the first day of the lunar month of Shawwal. This religious festival is an expression of thanks giving to Allah for His grace in enabling His faithful servants to observe the fasting month of Ramjan. |
Id
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Seventy days after Id-ul.Fitr comes Bakri Id or Id-Ul-Zuha. Bakri Id or Id-Ul-Zuha is celebrated with ritualistic fervour in West Bengal. The significance of the festival is the commemoration of the ordeals of Prophet Ibrahim. On this day devout Muslims of all ages offer special prayers at mosques in the morning and they offer animal sacrifices. The reason for which they offer animals is that as per the doctrine of Islam, sacrifice of animals signifies the sacrifice of the follower himself and his readiness to lay down his life, his interests and desires in the cause of the truth. Id-I-Milad is the day in which the Muslims celebrate Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
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Muharram is a festival commemorating Imam Hussain’s martyrdom. It is not a festival in the celebratory sense as it mourns the Karbala tragedy when Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was martyred in the 61st year of the Hijra. |
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Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the Buddha is widely celebrated, on a full moon night in April/May. Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and nirvana (salvation) fall on the same day. On this day, Buddhists offer prayers in their temples and reaffirm their faith in the five principles called “Panchsheel”. |
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The most celebrated festival of the Christians is Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Christ. It falls on December 25th. This day is a cause of celebration throughout the world. The Bengali Christians also celebrate it with much pomp and grandeur. The celebrations start on Christmas Eve with carol singing. The final day is marked by midnight mass. Christmas is regarded as the festival of peace and goodwill, when families are reunited, houses are gaily decorated and gifts are exchanged. Over the years, a number of traditions and customs grew around the celebration of Christmas -Santa and his reindeer, the elves and the toys, the stockings and Christmas tree, the mistletoe, the snowman, the gifts and the endless round of partying. These magical events of Christmas are believed to hold each and everyone’s heart with joy and freshness.
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