Pohela Boishakh 2020 Date and Sankranti Time: Know History, Significance and Celebrations Ahead of the Bengali New Year
As Pohela Boishakh 2020 nears, know the significance and rituals associated with the festival. In this article, we bring you Pohela Boishakh 2020 date, Sankranti time, history, significance and celebrations that keep the festive spirit among all the bongs during this season.
The auspicious time of Hindu New Year is here. Every year, somewhere in the middle of April, people across India welcome the Hindu New Year. Known by different names, Vaisakhi in Punjab, Vishu in Kerala, Bohag Bihu in Assam, people belonging to the Bengali community, especially in West Bengal celebrate Pohela Boishakh. Also spelt as Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year 2020 will be marked on April 14. As Pohela Boishakh 2020 nears, know the significance and rituals associated with the festival. In this article, we bring you Pohela Boishakh 2020 date, Sankranti time, history, significance and celebrations that keep the festive spirit among all the bongs during this season. Vishu 2020 Easy Rangoli Designs: Simple Pookalam & Kolam Patterns to Decorate Your House and Celebrate Kerala New Year.
Pohela Boishakh 2020 Date and Sankranti Time
Every year, the Bengali New Year begins around April 14 or April 15. Pohela Boishakh 2020 will be celebrated on April 14, 2020. However, Sankranti will fall a day ahead, on April 13, at 8:39 pm.
Pohela Boishakh History, Significance and Celebrations
During the Mughal era, land taxes were collected from the Bengalis, following the Islamic Hijri calendar. This was a lunar calendar and its new year never coincided with the solar agricultural cycles. It was the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who asked the royal astronomer Fathullah Shirazi to create a new schedule by combining the Islamic lunar calendar and solar Hindu calendar. This was called as Fasholi shan (harvest calendar). Some historians claim that this initiated the Bengali calendar. It is not clear as to who adopted the Bengali calendar and the new year; it is said that the creation of the separate calendar helped collect land taxes after the spring, depending on its dates.
Pohela Boishakh hence is a significant celebration for the Bengalis. It welcomes the New Year, and people celebrate it with great zeal. In Bengali, the word, Pahela or Poila means, 'first' and Baishakh is the first month of the Bengali calendar. People greet each other saying, ‘Shubho Noboborsho’ where naba’ means ‘new’ and ‘barsho’ mean ‘year.’ People make traditional meals, wear new clothes and spend the day with family.
However, this year’s celebration will be different because of the pandemic. People will stay at their homes and welcome the New Year.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2020 07:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).