Cultural function
The first day of the Bengali calendar year "Pahela Baishakh" is celebrated as the New Year in Bangladesh. The history of the Bengali New Year is not very old.In Bengal, Emperor Akbar started the Bengali calendar year on 10 March 1585, but it became effective from 16 March 1586, the day of his ascension to the throne. The basis of the Bengali year is the Hegira [ Hijri ] lunar year (Muslim era counted from the year of prophet Muhammad's (SM) going to Medina in 622 AD). The Bengali year was accepted at the grass root level irrespective of religious differences. The Bengali New Year is in summer, not a pleasant time in Bangladesh. It was fixed due to practical necessities. A strong reason for the creation of Bengali year is agriculture and the beginning of the Bengali year is a time of collection of taxes from the farmers.