Public holidays in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has numerous public holidays, including national memorial, religious and secular holidays of Bengali origin. The Bengali traditional calendar, known as Baṅgābda is the national and official calendar in Bangladesh. The holidays are celebrated according to Bengali, Islamic or Gregorian calendars for religious and civil purposes, respectively. Religious festivals like Eid are celebrated according to the Islamic calendar, whereas other national holidays are celebrated according to the Bengali and Gregorian calendar. While, the Islamic calendar is based on the movement of the moon, it loses synchronization with the seasons, through seasonal drift. Therefore, some public holidays are subject to change every year based on the lunar calendar.

There are fifteen public holidays in Bangladesh. Muslims and non-Muslims have four religious holidays each in addition to the seven secular national holidays. For the Muslims, nine major Islamic holidays: Ashura, Mawlid, Isra' and Mi'raj, Shab-e-Barat, first day of Ramadan, Revelation of the Quran, Laylat al-Qadr, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are observed. For the Hindus: Holi, Krishna Janmashtami, Durga Puja, Diwali and Raksha Bandhan are celebrated. As for the Christians: New Year, Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Halloween, Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day, St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve are celebrated. Buddhists: Vesak and Chinese New Year are celebrated.

General holidays

  National

  Religious

  International

List

Date	Name		Remarks
	English	Bengali
21 February	Language Movement Day	শহীদ দিবস	Protests and sacrifices to protect Bengali as a national language during Bengali Language Movement of 1952.
26 March	Independence Day	স্বাধীনতা দিবস	Proclamation of Independence and the start of the Liberation War.
Last friday of Ramadan	Jumu'atul-Wida	জুমাতুল বিদা	The day is observed in Bangladesh, marks one of the most sacred days in the Islamic calendar, signifying the last Friday of Ramadan. It is a day of profound prayer and reflection, where Muslims across the nation gather in mosques, seeking forgiveness and blessings in the closing moments of this holy month.
1 Shawwal	Eid al-Fitr	ঈদুল ফিতর	End of the month of Ramadan (Festival of Fastbreaking).
1 May	International Workers' Day	মে দিবস	International Workers' Solidarity Day
1st full moon of Baishakh	Buddha's Birthday	বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা	The birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha and founder of Buddhism.
10 Dhu al-Hijjah	Eid al-Adha	ঈদুল আজহা	"Sacrifice Feast", the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
8 Bhadra	Krishna Janmashtami	জন্মাষ্টমী	The birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
12 Rabi' al-Awwal	Mawlid	ঈদে মিলাদুন্নবী	Birth of Muhammad
10 Ashvin	Vijayadashami	বিজয়া দশমী	The battle of goddess Durga with the shape-shifting, deceptive and powerful buffalo demon Mahishasura, and her emerging victorious.
16 December	Victory Day	বিজয় দিবস	Surrender of Pakistan, ending of the Liberation War.
25 December	Christmas Day	বড়দিন	Jesus Christ's birthday.

Government holidays

  National

  Religious

  International

List

Date	Name		Remarks
	English	Bengali
15 Shaban	Mid-Sha'ban	শবে বরাত	Muslims ask for forgiveness for their wrongdoings.
27 Ramadan	Night of Power	শবে কদর
29/30 Ramadan	Yesterday of Eid al-Fitr	চাঁদ রাতের দিন
2 Shawwal	Next day of Eid al-Fitr	ঈদুল ফিতরের দ্বিতীয় দিন
14 April	Pohela Boishakh	পহেলা বৈশাখ	The start of the Bengali calendar year.
9 Dhu al-Hijjah	Yesterday of Eid al-Adha	ঈদুল আজহার আগের দিন
11 Dhu al-Hijjah	Next day of Eid al-Adha	ঈদুল আজহার দ্বিতীয় দিন
10 Muharram	Ashura	আশুরা	Shia: death of Husayn ibn Ali; Sunni: parting of the Red Sea

Optional holidays

  Buddhist

  Christian

  Hindu

  Islamic

List

Date	Name		Remarks
	English	Bengali
1 January	New Year's Day	ইংরেজি নববর্ষ
27 Rajab	Lailat al Miraj	শবে মেরাজ
5 Magha	Vasant Panchami	সরস্বতী পূজা
46 days before Easter Sunday	Ash Wednesday	ভস্ম বুধবার
First full moon in Magha	Magha Purnima	মাঘী পূর্ণিমা
First full moon in Phalguna	Holi	দোলযাত্রা
3 days before Easter Sunday	Maundy Thursday	পূণ্য বৃহস্পতিবার
Friday before Easter Sunday	Good Friday	পূণ্য শুক্রবার
The day before Easter Sunday	Holy Saturday	পূণ্য শনিবার
March–April	Easter Sunday	পুনরুত্থান পার্বণ
13th day of Krishna Paksha in Chaitra	Birthday of Harichand Thakur	হরিচাঁদ ঠাকুরের আবির্ভাব উৎসব
3 Shawwal	3rd day of Eid al-Fitr	ঈদুল ফিতরের তৃতীয় দিন
1 Chaitra	Mesha Sankranti	চৈত্র সংক্রান্তি
1 Baishakh	Baishabi	বৈসাবি	For employees belonging to minority groups working in Chittagong Hill Tracts and beyond.
14 Magha	Maha Shivaratri	শিবরাত্রি ব্রত
12 Dhu al-Hijjah	3rd day of Eid al-Adha	ঈদুল আজহার তৃতীয় দিন
First full moon in Ashada	Ashadi Purnima	আষাঢ়ী পূর্ণিমা
Last wednesday in Safar	Akhiri Chahar Shambah	আখেরি চাহার সোম্বা
First full moon in Bhadra	Madhu Purnima	মধু পূর্ণিমা
15/16 Bhadra	Mahalaya	মহালয়া
8 Ashvin	Durga Ashtami	অষ্টমী
9 Ashvin	Navaratri	নবমী
10 Ashvin	Vijayadashami	বিজয়া দশমী
11 Rabi' al-Thani	Fateha-e-Yazdaham	ফাতেহা-ই-ইয়াজদাহম
Full moon in Ashvin	Pavarana	প্রবারণা পূর্ণিমা
15 Kartika	Lakshmi Puja	লক্ষ্মী পূজা
15 Kartika	Kali Puja	কালী পূজা
15 Kartika	Kali Puja	কালী পূজা
24 December	Yesterday of Christmas	যিশু খ্রিষ্টের জন্মোৎসব
26 December	Next day of Christmas	যিশু খ্রিষ্টের জন্মোৎসব

Former holidays

Date	Name		Remarks	Source
	English	Bengali
17 March	Birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানের জন্মদিন	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman' Birthday, founder of Bangladesh and National Children's Day.	[1][2][3]
15 August	National Mourning Day	জাতীয় শোক দিবস	Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	[4][5][1]

See also

• List of festivals in Bangladesh
• List of countries by number of public holidays

References

1. "Govt cancels eight national days, including Mar 7, Aug 15". bdnews24.com. October 16, 2024.
2. "৮ জাতীয় দিবস বাতিল করে আদেশ জারি". Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). October 16, 2024.
3. "৭ মার্চসহ আটটি জাতীয় দিবস বাতিল করে আদেশ জারি". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). October 16, 2024.
4. "No public holiday on August 15 from now". Dhaka Tribune. August 13, 2024.
5. প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব (August 13, 2024). "১৫ আগস্টের ছুটি বাতিল". Bangladesh Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved August 25, 2024.

External Links

1. বাংলাদেশ ২০২৫ সালের সরকারি ছুটির ক্যালেন্ডার এবং তালিকা
2. Bangladesh Public Holidays 2025 Calendar