Bengal is not just famous for “RoshoGolla” and “Misti Doi”; it is also famous for its unique way of celebrating so many traditional festivals in a year. It’s true that Bengal celebrates 13 traditional festivals in 12 months or in a year. Each and every festival in Bengal bears their own charms which not just represent Bengal’s cultural diversity but also its own uniqueness. Now, let’s take a look at Bengal’s biggest festival celebrations:
Durga Puja:
With more than28,000 Durga puja pandals each year, West Bengal celebrates its biggest festival in October and the celebration happens for 10 constant days. Now, Durga Puja in Bengal has become an artistic canvas where creative artists showcase their passion and love for Art through amazing pandal decorations and Durga Pratima creation as well.
Nabo Borsho: In Begal, people celebrate their new year according to the Bengali calendar in the month of April. In this festival, people wear new cloths and distribute sweets among each other.
Jamai Shasthi: This festival is dedicated to all the sons-in-law. On this special occasion, all sons-in-law enjoy a special treat from their mother-in-law.
Ratha Jatra: The festival of Ratha Jatra is quite famous among the children in Bengal. During this festival, children drive chariots with three deities, Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra in their locality.
Rakhi Purnima: On the occasion of Rakhi Purnima, sisters tie knot on their brothers’ hands while the brothers surprise their sisters with amazing gifts. The tied knot represents the bond, love, and friendship between a brother and a sister.
Lakshmi Puja: After Durga Puja, Kojagori Lakshmi Puja is massively celebrated in Bengal. This is also one of the 13 important festivals in Bengal.
Kali Puja: After Lakshmi Puja, Bengal celebrates another festival which is Kali Puja. On Kali Puja, people worship the power of Idol Kali who has the power to remove all evils from the earth!
Bhai Phonta: On the occasion of Bhai Phonta, a sister greets her brother with Chandan and offers him a full plate of Sweets and other delicacies. In return, the brother surprises his sister with a great gift and wishes her good fortune.
Poush Sankranti: Poush Sankranti is celebrated in Bengal during the end of Winter Season when people bake different types of “Pithe-Puli” in their houses which are special types of sweets and deserts. The main point of attraction of Poush Sankranti is that these sweets are mainly made of rice!
Christmas: Who says that Bengal only celebrates Bengali festivals? Bengal celebrates Christmas time as massively as Durga Puja. In Christmas time, people visit Bengal’s decorative churches like Bandal Church and also Park Street area to enjoy great lighting works!
Dol Purnima: On the occasion of Dol Purnima, people enjoy the whole day while throwing dry and water colors to each other. On the day of Holi, Bengal and its people get covered by so many colors!
Eid ul Fitr: Not only Bengalis and Christians celebrate their festivals, but Muslim community in Bengal also celebrates their biggest festival Eid ul Fitr and other festivals Like Eid as well. On the actual day of Eid festival, Kolkata’s Red Road area see a huge congregation as so many Muslims gather up at prayer.
Saraswati Puja: In the month of January, Bengal celebrates another festival which is Saraswati Puja. On this special occasion, children greet Devi Saraswati who is known for her intelligence and talent of singing.
Why Bengal is the hub of all types of traditional festival celebration?
West Bengal is a state in which people from different community live together as these people share their happiness through different festivals. This is the main reason why celebrations come so handy in Bengal. Now, the government of West Bengal plans to tap into Bengal’s tourism potential by hard-selling its different festival celebrations like the Durga Puja. Bengal’s cultural diversity can actually bring more numbers of tourists in Bengal during different festival times.
It’s Bengal that now plans to improve its tourism business’s potential by attracting more numbers of tourists to witness the ‘greatest festival celebration on earth’ which is Durga Puja. This year, it will be really interesting to see whether the government of Bengal succeeds to achieve its goal for improving tourism by selling its festival celebrations!