Bengalis celebrate New Year on the 13th or 14th April, on the first day of the month of Baisakh. New Year's Day is therefore, known as the Poila Baisakh in Bangladesh and is celebrated as a national holiday. In Bengal, they call it the Naba Barsa.
The people clean and decorate their houses and make elaborate preparation to welcome the coming Year. They paint patterns on the ground (rangoli) in front of their houses. They usually use flour to make the design on the middle of which they place an earthenware pot, decorated with a red and white swastika considered an auspicious sign. This vessal is filled with holy water and a number of mango leaves to symbolise a prosperous year for the family.
That morning they worship Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. They wear garlands of different types of flowers, like the red orleanders, daisies, roses, hibiscus and marigolds.
