05 June 2015Assignment of Asian Fashion HistoryAssignment No: 03 (final)Topic: Festivals in Bangladesh

Submitted ToHeya SanchoitaCourse Instructor Asian Fashion HistoryDepartment of Professional Course of Fashion Design National Institute of Design (NID)

Submitted ByMahfuza Akter [Mili]ID : 020-014-005www.mmr07@yahoo.com (Student of Professional Course of Fashion Design NID)Batch no. 21

National Institute of Design (NID)

Acknowledgement

In conducting this assignment, I have received munificent help from many quarters, which I like to put on record here with deep gratitude and great pleasure.First and foremost, I would thank almighty ALLAH for giving me the wisdom and strength to undertake this assignment.I am highly obliged to my Course Instructor Asian Fashion History, Ms. Heya Sanchoita, Department of Professional Course of Fashion Design, National Institute of Design (NID). She gave me her precious time from the very beginning of this work till the completion. Her expert guidance, affectionate encouragement and critical suggestions provided me necessary insight into the research problem and paved the way for the meaningful ending of this assignment work in a short duration. That my pleasure and my grateful appreciation goes to the National Institute of Design (NID) for giving me this opportunity to study such types of course. I like to give many special thanks to the Internet, which make the world smeller and Google for collecting all information that I need. Thanks to all from the core of my heart.Lastly, I would thank my parents and all my friends for share their experience and support to motivation throughout the assignment.

ABSTRACT

Festivals are an expressive way to celebrate glorious heritage, culture and traditions. They are meant to rejoice special moments and emotions in our lives with our loved ones. They play an important role to add structure to our social lives, and connect us with our families and backgrounds. They give us a distraction from our day to day, exhausting routine of life, and give us some inspiration to remember the important things and moments in life. Festivals were started to pass the legends, knowledge and traditions onto the next generation.All festivals are cultural in one way or another. There are many types of cultural festivals such as National, Religious and Seasonal. They all serve the purpose of bringing happiness to our lives, and strengthen our sense of community.National Festivals: They connect us as a people of a nation. National festivals connect citizens to important moments of a nations history such as: the founding day of a nation, our independence day or in Europe VE day (Victory of Europe during WWII) is celebrated throughout the continent, with many nations having a public holiday. They solidify patriotic spirits in the society.

Religious Festivals: religious festivals are important for families. To keep this simple we can all agree that religious festivals help us to teach principles and ethics to our next generations. All different religious festivals bring the same message of love, tolerance and understanding. On these occasions we express our gratitude to God, for the special thing or event that originated on this particular festival.Seasonal Festivals: Seasonal festivals reflect attitude of people towards nature. These festivals are important because they are related to food supply. Human beings should adore the nature and acknowledge its beneficence before partaking any of its gifts.Overall in simple terms, universally all festivals are related to harmony, peace and happiness.

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Introduction12. Festivals In Bangladesh23. A List of Festivals44. Eid Ul-Fitr65. Eid Ul-Adha 76. Durga Puja9 7. Kali Puja98. Saraswati Puja109. Buddha Purnima1010. Bishwa Ijtema1111. Chaand Raat 1212. Ashura1313. Boro Din1414. Noboborsho1515. Ekushey February17 16. Independence Day1717. Pohela Falgun1918. Nobanno1919. Nouka Baich2020. Shakrain 2021. Jatiya Pitha Utsab 2122. International Trade Fair2223. Conclusion2324. Annexure2425. Bibliography

INTRODUCTION Festival is an event which is celebrated collectively for celebrating a cause. Festivals are mostly celebrated to propagate the cultural heritage of nations. Festivals highlight various aspects of a society. For example people in all around the world celebrate Christmas, New Year, Sports events such as Olymics, Easter, Eid and other religious and cultural events to exhibit their emotions and happiness. Festivals at national level help to promote solidarity and patriotic spirit in the society. Religious festivals all around the world bring convergence and propagate acceptance of all kinds of religions in different geographical segments. International festivals help to increase brotherhood and remove ethnic racism in the world. Owing to the fact that world has become a global village, celebrations of all kinds of festivals in a country improves the overall image of the country and shows the acceptance of cultural diversity in the country. They help keeping alive the older traditions and provide entertainment to the people celebrating events in different parts of the world. All the festivals that we celebrate have some profound meaning in it and they have some pragmatic purpose also.

FESTIVALS IN BANGLADESHBangladesh is a country where colourful fairs and festivals are held throughout the year in a befitting manner and with great zeal and zest. With changes in social and economic structures, the nature of festivals also changes, but some festivals are so deeply rooted in the social organism that they continue to entertain people from generation to generation. Some of the festivals bear the mark of the community and nation, some have the stamp of religion, and again some bear the impress of politics.Bangladeshi daily life is replete with traditions and festivals that reflect the unique culture and tradition of Bangladeshis. Some of the tradition and customs are as ancient as prehistoric days, while others are relatively recent. The indigenous customs and festivals that has been preserved and nurtured through the ages are principally center around agricultural practices. These include nabonno (the festival of the new harvest) and pawhela boishAkh (the Bengali new Year). Religion has also played a distinct role in shaping the mores and traditions of Bangladeshi life.

Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, and Islams adherents in Bangladesh celebrate the joyous festival of the two Eids, Eid-ul-Fitr, and Eid-ul-Azha, the month of Ramadan, Shab-e-Qadr, Shab-e-Barat etc. Hindus in Bangladesh celebrate Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Janmastami. The Buddhists celebrate Buddho Purnima and the Christians Christmas. These are just a few of the religious festivals and feasts that Bangladeshis celebrate in their day to day life.National occasions also mark Bangladeshi life, and these include Independence Day, Victory Day, and the historic Language Martyrs Day.Social customs like birth, naming ceremony, marriage, and death too have a distinct Bangladeshi flavor with each ethnic and religious group having their own unique way to mark these traditions.

THIS IS A LIST OF FESTIVALS IN BANGLADESHRELIGIOUS1. Eid ul-Fitr - on the 1st day of Shawwal month of the lunar Islamic calendar.1. Eid ul-Adha - on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah month of the Islamic calendar.1. Durga Puja - from the 2nd to the 7th day of Kartik month of the Bengali calendar.1. Kali Puja1. Saraswati Puja1. Buddha Purnima1. Bishwa Ijtema1. Chaand Raat - on the 29th or 30th night of Ramadan month of the Islamic calendar.1. Ashura - on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar.1. Boro Din - on 25 December of the Gregorian calendar.

OTHERS1. Noboborsho - on the 1st day of the Bengali calendar.1. Ekushey February - International Mother Language Day1. Independence Day1. Pohela Falgun1. Nobanno1. Ekushey Book Fair - in Dhaka on the month of February of the Gregorian calendar.1. Nouka Baich1. Shakrain - in Dhaka at the end of the Poush of the Bengali calendar.1. Jatiya Pitha Utsab National Cake Festival.1. International Trade Fair

EID-FESTIVALEid-ul-fitr and Eid-ul-adha are the main festival in Bangladesh. These are the happiest time of the year for every people in Bangladesh. For a week, offices and schools remains closed during the festival.Preparation of Eid starts long before the Eid. People go shopping for Eid dress. For men, Punjabi is the special dress for Eid. For women Shari, and Salwar-Kamiz. During Eid shopping, people purchase for themselves, and for family members and relatives as much as possible. Giving Eid present is a long tradition of Bangladesh.Before 2-3 days of the Eid, people start to leave the cities for their home-towns and villages. Everyone return home and gather for the festival. Quiet remote villages become crowded. Everyone goes to meet each-other in the village.Eid day starts in the very morning by mens and kids taking shower and getting ready wearing new Punjabi, and go to the Eid-gah (a special place to do eid prayer). Eid prayer lasts for at least one hour. After the prayer, everyone hugs each-other. This is the most sweetest moment of the eid. This hugging going on the whole day when meet someone new. Children purchase balloon and other toys from eid-gah.

Returning home everyone eats eid special Semai. Many kinds of Semai is prepared in the eid day. With that, some other special sweet foods payes, firni, khir. For afternoon and evening, khichuri is the main special food during eid.From the evening, people start to go outside. In village, everyone goes each-others houses. There they eat and gossip. In the city, during the eid days are the most quiet time of the year. No traffic jam at all. This is a really nice time to walk in the roads. People goes out to the parks with kids, specially Sisu park and Fantasy park. This is continues for the 2-3 days of the eid. After that, people start to return, and continue their usual life until another eid.EID-UL-AZHAEid-ul-Azha is the second biggest festival of Islam in Bangladesh. This Eid day is also similar with the Eid-ul-Fiter. But there is only one difference is in Eid-ul-Fiter no animal need to be sacrificed. Like Eid-ul-Fiter, Eid-ul-Azha is also a very important and significant day which is observed with great enthusiasm and excitement in all over the Bangladesh.Eid-ul-Azha is one of the most important and significant day for Muslim. This day is also called feast of Sacrifice. This day is important because on this day Ibrahim agreed to sacrifice his only son Ismail as act of submission and command of God. Ismail also agreed to be sacrificed in obedience. On that day Muslims of the world sacrifice animal like cow, got or lamb to observe this day. Significance of Eid-ul-Azha is it teaches us faith, unity, obedience, sacrifice and sharing.Eid-ul-Azha is also important for the Hazz in Mecca which is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. At the end of the Hazz, Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated all over the world.Eid-ul-Azha is a public holiday in Bangladesh. Bangladesh observe 3 days holiday on Eid-ul-Azha. Preparation for Eid-ul-Azha started from minimum weeks ago. Some temporary hut made for selling animals along with permanent hut. People of Bangladesh buy animals for Kurbani from there. They take special care of their animals and decorate the animals with plastic flower or garland.On Eid day people wake up early in the morning. After Eid prayer main ritual of Eid-ul-Azha started by sacrificing animals. Women prepared delicious food with the meat of sacrificed animal and special Bangladeshi special spices. People visit their relative with their meat dishes and bread. This is a very enjoyable day for every Bangladeshi Muslim.

DURGA PUJADurga Puja is the biggest and most important religious festival of Hindu religion. This festival has started from ancient time. People of Hindu religion celebrate this day by worshipping their goddess called Durga. Goddess Durga has 10 arms; she carries weapons in hand and rides on a lion. Durga Puja is the biggest and most important festival for Hindu religion in Bangladesh. This day is grandly observed in Bangladesh. Durga Puja makes bonding of people stronger and also socializes them.KALI PUJAHindus perform Kali Puja on the new moon day usually in the month of Kartik (October-November). According to Hindu myth Kali is the first of ten female energies of Shiva (the third God of the Hindu triad). Kali is also known as dark, four armed and wearing a string of human heads with blood dripping from them. Hindu mythology describes her as three eyed, with one eye in the center of her forehead. She stands on the chest of Shiva is circled by his worshipers.Kali Puja is held when asking for a special boon. In rural areas of Bangladesh people arrange Kali Puja jointly during an epidemic. He-goats, sheep, or buffaloes are sacrificed on that occasion. There are a number of kali temples in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh.

SARASWATI PUJAOn the fifth lunar day of the bright night in the Bengali month of Magh (January-February), Saraswati Puja is held. Saraswati is the Goddess of learning. According to Hindu mythology Saraswati is the wife of Brahma, the creator. She is represented as fair and wearing a white sari and a garland of white beads. The whiteness symbolizes the purity of Saraswati. Saraswati is mounted on a swan carrying a kacchapi vina on her hand. As she is the Goddess of learning specially Hindu students worship her. During the Puja, Hindu students place their textbooks and pens on her alter with the sacred books. The Hindu devotees believe that an ignorant person can acquire knowledge through the blessing of Saraswati. All the academic institutions remain closed on that occasion. Tough Saraswati Puja is observed in the academic institutions; some Hindu families arrange worship at their home. The series of pujas that starts with Durga comes to an end with Saraswati PujaBUDDHA PURNIMAThe main festival of the Buddhists is Buddha Purnima or Baishakhi Purnima. It is celebrated on the day of the full moon in Bengali month Baishakh (April-May). It is believed by the Buddhists that three important events occurred in the life of Buddha on this day; his birth, his gaining enlightenment, and his death. On this day Buddhists arrange collective prayers and other religious ceremonies, recite stories of The Buddha and his disciples, organize socials and cultural events. The day is observed as a public holiday. Fairs are also held on the day at different villages in Bangladesh.BISHWA IJTEMABishwa Ijtema is important for Muslims of all over the world. It has especial importance for religious gathering of Muslim community of the world. Bishwa Ijtema holds great significance as this day concentrated only on meditation and prayer. Political discussions are not allowed at all in this unique event. This is the place where Muslims of different countries can interact with one another, can study and discuss on Quran.Bishwa Ijtema is 3 days long event observed by the Muslims community of Bangladesh as well as all over the world. More than 25 thousand Muslims attend every year in Bishwa Ijtema. Bishwa Ijtema is celebrated by giving sermons on tablig and by praying. On this day people wish for the wellbeing of Muslim community.President, Prime Minister and Opposition Leader gives separate massages on this day. They also like to attend in Bishwa Ijtema especially on Akheri Munazat (Last Prayer). Special security is arranged by the Government of Bangladesh with CCTV cameras to observe the day smoothly.Bishwa Ijtema is an Islamic gathering festival held in the Bangladesh every year. Muslims of all over the country join and observe this annual festival. Bishwa Ijtema holds really great significance in Bangladesh as well as other Muslim countries of the world.CHAAND RAATChand Raat is the immediate before night of Eid-ul-Fiter. In English Chand Raat means Night of Moon. In Bangladesh it is called Chaad Raat. Chaad means Moon and Raat means Night. Chand Raat is one of the most enjoyable nights in Bangladesh.Chand Raat is important because from this night celebration of Eid-ul-Fiter. People of Bangladesh feel the happiness of festival on Chand Raat. This night comes with lots of happiness and very good news that next day is Eid-ul-Fiter. That is why Chand Raat is important in Bangladesh especially for children.Chand Raat started when moon is seen in the sky. People grate each other by common greeting Eid Mubarak. They also go to the shopping mall for last shopping. Women decorate their hands with beautiful designs of henna or mehendi and prepare different delicious dishes for next day. Bangladeshi Muslim celebrates Chand Raat with great festive mood. People of other community also join in this happy occasion.Chand Raat is one of the most significance nights which celebrate before Eid-ul-fiter. All people of Bangladesh enjoys this day though it is a religious festival of Islam. They celebrate ChandASHURAAshura is the 10th day of Muharram, first and one of the most important month of Islamic calendar. Ashura is also called the Day of Mourning in Bangladesh. On 10th Moharram of Hijri 61 grandson of great Prophet Mohammad (SM) Hazrat Imam Hossain (RA) got martyred in Karbala.Ashura is important for the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hossain and his family members at Karbala in Iraq. This day is considered as one of the most significant days of Islam. Every year Muslims of the world observes this day to remember Hazrat Imam Hossain the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SM) and to pay respect to him.In Bangladesh Ashura is a public holiday. Muslims in Bangladesh observe Ashura with religious mood and great solemnity. Most of the Muslims in Bangladesh keep fast on this day. They also observe Ashura by special namaz, doa, reciting Quran, feeding poor and donating money in mosque. To remember Hazrat Imam Hossain (RA) Muslims of Shia community in Bangladesh arranges procession every year on Ashura which is called Tazia.Special massages are given by Prime Minister and President of Bangladesh on Ashura. TV channels, radio channels aired special programs and newspaper & other print media publishes special supplements on this special day which focuses on the significance and importance of Ashura.Ashura is one of the most important occasions for Muslims in Bangladesh. This day is also called Muharram widely in Bangladesh. Every Musmilm of Bangladesh observe this day to remember Hazrat Imam Hossain(RA) and to pay respect on him.BORO DINIn Bangladesh Christmas is known as Boro Din. Boro means Big and Din means Day. So Boro Din means Big Day. In Bangladesh Christmas celebrates with great enjoyment. Not only Christians but also people of all religion enjoys this day.For Christians Christmas day is a very sacred and important day. The day is Christian holiday. This day is especially important for Jesus Christs birthday. So Christian celebrates this day in memory of birth of Jesus Christ with great importance.In Bangladesh Christmas holds great importance and significance as Jesus Christ taken birth on this day. Jesus is most important to Christian religious. Most of them believe that Jesus is the son of God.The main purpose of celebrating the day is to show the love and respect of Christian to their God. By celebrating Christmas they express what they feel for their religion and Jesus.Christmas day is celebrated with festive mood in Bangladesh as the day is the day of joy, love and sharing. Churches, streets and homes decorated with lights and Christmas Tree. Some village people use banana tree as Christmas tree and decorate the tree with lights and angel ornaments. Christians also sing carols in this day. Actually people of Bangladesh celebrate Christmas in their special way. Big churches of the country host different programs. Not only churches but also different organization even five star hotel and restaurants arrange different programs, special food menu, Christmas cake and lots of gifts for children with Santa Claus. Most of the Bangladeshi enjoys Christmas Eve together. They spend their time in visiting house to house, opening gifts and eating special dishes. This day is celebrated with great festivity and enjoyment.Christmas day bears great significance and importance to Christians. This day is considered as the day of blessings of God. Bangladeshi nation enjoys and celebrate this day to express their feelings, faith and respect to God. This day also brings opportunity to show love and affection to each other.POHELA BOISHAKHPohela Boishakh (Bengali: , or Bengali New Year Bengali: , Bangla Nbobrsho), is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated on 14 April in the Bangladesh and 15 April in the Indian state of West Bengal by the Bengali people and also by minor Bengali communities in other Indian states, including Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and Orrisa. It coincides with the New Year's days of numerous Southern Asian calendars like Tamil new year Puthandu. The traditional greeting for Bengali New Year is "Shubh Nbobrsho" which is literally "Happy New Year".Pohela Boishakh is celebrated with a fresh and festive mood in Bangladesh. This day is a public holiday in whole Bangladesh as it is a public festival of Bengali nations. Pohela Boishakh started with the Robindro song Aso he Boisakh. This song is considered as the welcoming song of new Bengali year. Biggest programs of Pohela Boishakh held on Ramna Batmul Dhaka. Students of Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University arrange a rally program called Mongol Sovajatra.People wear traditional cloths on this day. Men wears Payjama-Panjabi and women wears Sharee especially red color with traditional makeover. On this day people love start their breakfast with traditional food Panta Vat (Rice soaked in water), Kaca Moric (Green Chilli), Piaj (Onion) and very special Elish Vaja (Fried Hilsa Fish).Different cities of Bangladesh arrarnges fair on thid day called Boishakhi Mela. Traditional items are sold in fair specially handicrafts and traditional foods. The fairs also arrange song and dance programs by singers and dancers. They play traditional plays like jatra, jarigan, sarigan etc. There also make arrangement of puppet shows called Putul Nach for children.Apart from this different organization arranges different programs. Print media, television and radio publish and broadcast special programs.EKUSHEY FEBRUARYEkushey Book Fair is called Omor Ekushey Boi Mela in Bengali which means Book Fair of Immortal 21st in English. This book fair is the biggest book fair as well as national book fair of Bangladesh. Ekhushey Book Fair is held once in a year in the Bangla Academy premier which is in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.Ekushey Book Fair is a month long festival which starts at 1st February and ends at 28th February every year and it is held in the premier of Bangla Academy which is located in Dhaka city. As Ekushey Book Fair is a national book fair, it is controlled by the Ministry of Culture of Bangladesh. Almost 400 books publishers of Bangladesh participate in fair with their book stall. They offer up to 25% discount on books to attract people.Book authors or book writers also present on the fair to interact with people. Thousands of people gather on the fair everyday and they love to get autographs of famous writers. People of all ages waits whole year for February month, comes book fair and enjoy buying new books of the year.INDEPENDENCE DAY26th March is the Independence Day of Bangladesh. This day is called Shadhinota Dibosh in Bangladesh. Shadhinota means Independence and Dibosh means Day. Independence Day of Bangladesh is one of the most remarkable and memorable days for Bangladeshi nation.Independence Day of Bangladesh is important because on late hour of 25th March of 1971 Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave declaration of independence against Pakistan. On 26th March of 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh was started.During Liberation War of Bangladesh 3millions of innocent civilians were killed and after nine month civil war Bangladesh got its separate identity with independence. That is why Independence Day holds importance in Bangladesh.Independence Day is a public holiday in Bangladesh. Every street, shop or house decorates with National Flag of Bangladesh. Celebrations of Independence Day start with the parade and 32 gun salute. President, Prime Minister and Opposition Leader of Bangladesh pay their respect in the national memorial of Bangladesh called Jatio Sriti Shoudh in Savar, Dhaka. After that the national memorial opens to all public to pay their respect. People of Bangladesh pay their respect with flowers.Many public and private organizations arrange special programs on this day like political speeches, concerts, fairs. These programs mainly concentrate on tradition and history of Bangladesh. TV and radio channel broadcast special programs and patriotic song and print media publishes special supplements with speeches of Prime Minister and President of Bangladesh on Independence Day.POHELA FALGUNPohela Falgun (Bengali: Phela Falgun or Pela Falgun), first day of Spring of Bengali month Falgun, of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in Bangladesh[1] and West Bengal and in the other Indian states, including Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and Orrisa. The first of Falgun usually falls on 13 February of the Gregorian Calendar. This day is marked with colourful celebration and traditionally, women wear yellow saris to celebrate this day.The first month of the season Spring, the king of all six seasons. The first of Falgun is known as Pohela Falgun Pohela Falgun is marked with a colorful celebration of the advent of Spring. It symbolizes the festival of color, coherence of heart and a refreshing start of lifeNABANNANabanna (New Crop) is a Bengali harvest celebration usually celebrated with food and dance and music in Bangladesh and in the Indian State of West Bengal. It is a festival of food; many local preparations of Bengali cuisine like pithe are cooked and offered.Several dance and music forms have grown out of the ritual accompanied with the festival. Examples are Chhau, Bihu etc. Also the name nabanna is associated to several rural welfare projects and banks. It has also been associated with the IPTA movement of Bengali theatre.The path-breaking production "Nabanna" of the Indian People's Theatre Association IPTA in the 1940s, has been a motivating force in the left-tilted political approach of the next few decades on the stage where luminaries like Utpal Dutt will glow with brilliance.NOUKA BAICHNouka Baich is a traditional rowing sport of Bangladesh. The sport uses traditional Bangladeshi boats known as Nouka. Each team in a Nouka Baich competition consists of 25 to 100 members. Boats with motor engines are not allowed. In the 2000s, the British Bangladeshi community in Oxford have also started to arrange Nouka Baich events in the United Kingdom.SHAKRAIN FESTIVALShakrain Festival (Bengali: ; also known as Kite festival) is celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh at the end of the Bengali month Poush (January 14 or 15 in Gregorian calendar).[1] This day is known as Poush Sangkranti (Bengali: ; End of Poush). It is celebrated mostly around the southern part of Dhaka city.As part of the celebration, kites are flown high from the rooftops around the area in the afternoon. It often takes the form of kite fighting, in which participants try to snag each other's kites or cut other kites down. When night falls, fireworks lit up the sky of old Dhaka. Flame-eaters also gather up on the roofs to entertain everyone with their skills of manipulating fire.PITHA UTSABPitha Utsab (cake festival) is an age-old festival during the winter season. This type of festival is frequently seen in the rural areas. But unfortunately this festival is gradually disappearing from the urban life. From this point of view who miss the tradition in the urban life, can enjoy delicious pithas at the Jatiyo Pitha Utsab on Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy premises in the citys Segunbagicha area.The seventh edition of Jatiyo Pitha Utsab in the open space of the Shilpakala Academy organised by Jatiyo Pitha Utsab Udjapon Parishad has presented the urban residents a taste of traditional winter in the centre of the city. The festival was inaugurated by the Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu as the chief guest on January 24. M Hamid, President of Jatiyo Pitha Utsab Udjapon Parishad, among others, were also present at the inauguration. Around 30 stalls with more than 150 varieties of traditional pithas have been soothing the need to visit the villages for pithas. Malpoya, Malai, Pata, Rosh Phul, Khejur Kinni, Bhajapuri, Bou Pitha, Kola Pitha, Pati Sapta, Rosh Golap, Nakshi Pitha, Pantua, Ilish Pitha, Jhinuk Pitha, Puli Pitha, Dudh Chitai, Hriday Haran are just some of the names of various pithas being sold at the festival. Apart from the grandeur and colour of the pithas the visitors are being entertained with traditional songs presented by singers from across the country. The combination of traditional songs and pithas at the venue creates a pleasing ambiance of festivity.INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIRInternational Trade Fair is the biggest trade fair in South Asia. In Bangladesh it is the biggest economical trade fair and it is the popular fair in Bangladesh. Many of peoples everyday comes here and enjoy the trade fair. Not only here come in Bangladeshi citizenship; but also foreign people are every day coming here from various countries of the world. So we think Dhaka International Trade Fair is the universal fair in the whole world.Dhaka International Trade Fair participated countries are 15 as Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, United States of America, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, China, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea etc. In the first time Australia, United Kingdom and Germany joined Dhaka International Trade Fair 2015.

CONCLUTION Festivals are mostly celebrated to propagate the cultural heritage of nations. Festivals highlight various aspects of a society. Festivals at national level help to promote solidarity and patriotic spirit in the society. Religious festivals all around the world bring convergence and propagate acceptance of all kinds of religions in different geographical segments. International festivals help to increase brotherhood and remove ethnic racism in the world. Celebrations of all kinds of festivals in a country improves the overall image of the country and shows the acceptance of cultural diversity in the country. The festivals bring people together. They come every year to make us forget all ill-will and communal hatred the festivals strengthen the feeling of oneness too people, without any malice, meet with one another and wish for bright future. Thus, festivals are very important and they must be celebrated with pomp and show by all.

ANNEXURE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_festivals_in_Bangladesh http://www.bangla2000.com/bangladesh/festivals. www.independent-bangladesh.com/fairs-and-festivals www.banglacode.com/festivals-in-Bangladesh.php www.virtualbangladesh.com Culture http://www.google.com.bd/imgresoverview-of-the-culture-and-festivals-in bangladesh www.experiencebangladesh.com/bangladesh-festivals.php www.mediabangladesh.net/festivals-bangladesh-religious-traditional https://www.hayfestival.com/dhaka www.bangladesh.com/.../festivals/.../international-short-independent-film. www.bengalfoundation.org/event/bengal-classical-music-festival-2014