Pohela Boishakh
| Pohela Boishakh পহেলা বৈশাখ | |
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Mangal Shobhajatra at Pohela Baishakh celebration in Dhaka, Bangladesh | |
| Official name | Pohela Boishakh |
| Also called | Pahela Baishakh, Poila Boishakh, Pahela Boishak, Poila Boishak, Poila Baishak |
| Observed by | Bengalis |
| Type | Social, cultural and national festival |
| Significance | Start of new year in Bengali calendar |
| Celebrations | Boishakhi Mela (fair), processions, gift-giving, visiting relatives and friends, cultural programmes |
| Date | 14 April (Bangladesh) 14 or 15 April (India) |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | South and Southeast Asian solar New Year |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Bengal |
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| History |
| Cuisine |
Pohela Boishakh (Bengali: পহেলা বৈশাখ or পয়লা বৈশাখ) is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam (Goalpara and Barak Valley). It is a festival based on the spring harvest—which marks the first day of the new year in the Bengali calendar.
Pohela Boishakh celebrations started during the rule of Mughal empire, representing the proclamation of tax collection reforms under Akbar. Its celebration is rooted in the traditions of the Bengali Muslim Mahifarash community of Old Dhaka. Presently, it is largely a secular holiday for most celebrants and enjoyed by people of several different faiths and backgrounds.
The festival is celebrated with processions, fairs and family time. The traditional greeting for Bengalis in the new year is শুভ নববর্ষ (Shubho Noboborsho) which is literally "Happy New Year". The festive Mangal Shobhajatra is organised in Bangladesh. In 2016, the UNESCO declared this festivity organised by the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka as a cultural heritage of humanity.