Culture
BSA encourages everyone to engage with Bangali culture at our events. We involve culture at every event to create a sense of community, from Rannaghors (delicious home-cooked food) to Cha and Chill study sessions (cha and nashta!). We single out culture in particular on national, religious, or cultural holidays. Past events have had dancing, singing, mehndi, and cultural presentations. Here's some fun moments we've had celebrating Bangali culture.
Ekushey February
Ekushey February (February 21) is a national holiday in Bangladesh and is also recognized worldwide as International Mother Language Day. This special day serves to promote the preservation and protection of all languages.
It is a national day that serves to honor the sacrifices and protests that were conducted in an effort to protect Bangla as the national language during the Bengali Language Movement in 1952. This movement alone served as the primary catalyst of the Bengali identity and later played a huge role in starting the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
Noboborsho (New Year)
April 14 is the first day of the Bangali calendar. Pohela Boishakh is celebrated by people of Bangali heritage across the world. In Bangladesh, it is tradition to wear red and white and eat festive foods like panta bhat (soaked rice) ilish bhaji (fried hilsa fish), and various bhortas (mashed herbs and vegetables). It is also a public holiday in India, where people in West Bengal put on an early morning cultural procession of traditional song and dance called Prabhat Pheri.
Bijoy Dibosh (Victory Day)
On December 16, 1971, the Liberation War of former East Pakistan against West Pakistan ended with 3 million martyrs, or Mukhtijoddha. A new nation, Bangladesh, was born. This day is called Bijoy Dibosh, translating to Victory Day.
In 1947, the Indian subcontinent was divided into 3 parts consisting of 2 nations based primarily on religion: West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan), India, and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh). The two wings of Pakistan were not only geographically separated by over 2000 km, but were also culturally and linguistically different. 24 years later, these differences eventually led to a brutal 9-month war with heavy Bangladeshi casualties.
Joyous celebrations, special programs, and patriotic songs run free through Bangladeshi spirits on this day. Amar Shonar Bangla, the National Anthem written by Bangali icon Rabindranath Tagore, reverberates all across the nation with pride, gratitude, and optimism.