_Pohela Boishakh or Bengali New Year falls on the first day of Bengali calendar. It is simply called as Bangla or Bengali New Year because the festival is celebrated in Bangladesh, West Bengal, in Bengali communities in Tripura and Assam. Pohela Boishakh is celebrated on 14th of April in Bangladesh and it is a national holiday. Pohela Boishakh is celebrated on 15th of April in West Bengal and Assam and it is a public holiday.

In Bengali calendar, the new year starts in mid-April of the Gregorian calendar. Therefore the first day of its year coincides with the mid-April new year in Assam, Mithila, Burma, Kerala, Cambodia, Nepal, Manipur, Punjab, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

_For the regulation of the tax collection, the Mughal Emperor, King Akhbar ordered a reform of the calendar. Accordingly, a renowned astronomer and scholar Fatehullah Shirazi, formulated the Bangla year on the basis of lunar Hijri and Bangla solar calendars. In March 1584, the new agricultural year was introduced and was dated from Akbar’s tenure as a king (1556). And eventually, the new year became very popular by the names Bengali or Bangabda year.

As per the King’s directive, all the dues had to be settled on the last day of Chaitra month. Then on the next day, which is the new year’s day, the landlords would entertain their tenants with sweets. There used to be fairs and certain activities on this occasion.

_In order to welcome the new year, young ladies clad in white sarees with red borders while men in dhuti and kurta, they take part in the Probbat Pheri processions early in the morning. people will clean their homes and wear new clothes. They bath early in the morning, dress in five clothes and visit family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. People consider the entire month of Pohela Boishakh to be an auspicious time for new ventures, businesses and to get married. Bangla New Year is the day for cultural programme.

_In Dhaka, bull racing and kite flying in Munshiganj are very popular events. Cockfights, bullfights, horse races, boat racing and flying pigeons are other popular village sports and games. Some festivals like bali or wrestling in Chitagong and gambhira in Rajshahi still continue. There is a musical entertainment with dancers and singers staging jatra, pala gaan, jarigan, kavigan, gambhira gaan, alkap gaan and gazir gaan. Folk songs as well as baul, murshidi, marfati and bhatiali songs are performed.

_On this merry festival, people gather early in the morning on the bank of a lake or under a big tree to witness the sunrise. They will be wearing traditional Bengali dresses. Songs are rendered to welcome the new year. In many cases, the people start with their traditional brakfast of panta bhat, green chillies, fried hilsa fish and onion.

_Related Topics:
Vietnamese New Year
Chinese New Year Facts

Thai New Year is called as Songkran, the word comes from Sanskrit which means ‘a move or change’. This festival is celebrated in Thailand from 13th to 15th of April every year. The date of the festival was set according to the astrological calculation and is said to have been adapted from Indian festival. It usually falls on the hottest time of the year in Thailand. The most famous Songkran celebrations are in the northern city of Chiang Maei, where it cointinues for six days and sometimes even longer.

The phases of the moon as well as the lunar calendar play a significant role in determining the Thai New Year. Although the Thai people changed the New Year to January 1 in 1940, the traditional Songkran Festival is still celebrated as Thailand’s national holiday. In fact, Thailand is probably the only country that celebrates New Year three times every year – 1st of January, Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year and Songkran or the Thai traditional New Year. The three-day Songkran festival is also celebrated in Myanmar and Cambodia.

On the eve of Songkran Day people will clean their house and burn all the refuse. Thais believe that anything bad belonging to the old year will bring bad luck to them if left and carried on to the coming New Year.

The first day of the celebrations is called Maha Songkran Day which also marks the end of the old year. A lot of Thais go back to their upcountry homes so that they can spend the holidays with the families. Most hotels, restaurants and bars arrange special promotions, which are mostly very expensive and need to be booked in advance. Firework displays are everywhere around the city but the most notable are at Wat Saket and Sanam Luang, on top of the Golden Mount.

_Early on the first day of Songkran, people will wear their best new clothes and go to the nearest Wat or monastery to offer food to the monks. You can see some long tables in the compound of the wat where people can put boiled rice into the monk’s alms bowls on either side of the table. Another of Songkran celebration involves releasing fish back into rivers and streams. Birds are also released from cages as part of this festivities.

_The most obvious celebration of Thai New Year is the throwing of water. During festivities, people will roam the streets with containers full of water and drench each other and passersby. Some of them even use water guns or garden hoses. They also put powder to each other’s faces. This Water Throwing Festival is done to symbolize washing away all the sins from the previous year. However, the Water Throwing was not always the main activity of the festival. Songkran was traditionally a time used to visit and pay respects to elders, including monks, neighbors, friends and of course, family members.