Bangladesh : public and bank holidays, closure of banks, stock exchanges, school vacations

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Culture : On this day in 1972, Bangabandhu returned to independent Bangladesh after over nine and a half months' confinement in a Pakistan jail. The political icon termed his homecoming a journey from the darkness to light .

Tradeshows : Lasts 5 days - in Dhaka 2022 edition confirmed

Buddhism (Vajrayana) : Bhawasma Budhbar - Chinese New Year

Secular holiday : This day commemorates the lives sacrificed to make Bengali one of the national languages when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. The West Pakistani regime tried to force Urdu as the national language. A demonstration by Bengalis was shot at by police, leading to the death of 4 demonstrators. The nascent Bengali patriotism lead to the birth of Bangladesh. Shaheed Dibosh (Martyrs' Day)

Muslim, Sufi : Shab-e-meraz

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Secular holiday : The Aug. 15 holiday was scrapped in 2002 by the government of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, after she won a 2001 election by defeating Mujib's daughter Sheikh Hasina, another former prime minister. Mujib was killed with most members of his family in a military coup in 1975, which began years of rule by army generals, including Khaleda's husband Ziaur Rahman, who was killed in a 1981 mutiny. Mujib formally gave the directive for a guerrilla war to gain independence from Pakistan in March 1971. He was arrested by the Pakistani army but his followers led the war to achieve independence in December 1971.

Banks only : Muslims believe that on the night of Shab-E-Barat god writes the destinies of all men for the coming year by taking into account the deeds committed by them in the past. Shab-E-Barat means the night of forgiveness or Day of Atonement. People pray to god both in preparation for Ramadan and for the forgiveness of the sins committed by them.

Secular holiday : In 1970, East Pakistan's leading political party, the Awami League, won the elections. Its leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was to become the next Prime Minister, but the President of Pakistan refused. Mujib declared independence for the People's Republic of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. A nine-month civil war ensued.

cards/flowers : Mother’s day has evolved in many countries in different ways. This is because mother’s day has different origins in different countries and therefore occurs on different days in the year. One school of thought claims that this day emerged from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Mother worship which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and Rhea, the wife of Cronus, was held on March 15 to March 18 around Asia Minor. They insist that this custom spread around the world. Mothering Sunday is the celebration of motherhood in the United Kingdom. It is also known as Mid-lent Sunday, Rose Sunday and Laetare Sunday. It originally comes from the Victorian practice of allowing servants to return home to visit their mothers on this day. In the United States, Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 - October 17, 1910) was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet. Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862 and quickly became one of the most popular songs for the Union during the American Civil War. After the war she focused her activities on the causes of Pacifism and women’s suffrage. In 1870 she was the first to proclaim Mother’s Day, with her Mother’s Day Proclamation. Called "Mothering Sunday" in the UK

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Secular holiday : Sri Sri Harichand Thakur was born in 1812 at Safaldanga, Gopalgaunge. He experienced atmadarshan (self-realisation) and preached his ideologies and religious philosophy in twelve commandments. His followers consider him as God (Thakur) Harichand and as an avatar of Vishnu. [Wikipedia]

Buddhism (Theravada) : Choitro Shonkranti

Banks only : Under the Mughals, agricultural taxes were collected according to the Hijri calendar. However, as the Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar, it does not coincide with the harvest. As a result, farmers were hard-pressed to pay taxes out of season. In order to streamline tax collection, the Mughal Emperor Akbar ordered a reform of the calendar. Accordingly, Fatehullah Shirazi, a renowned scholar and astronomer, formulated the Bangla year on the basis of the lunar Hijri and Bangla solar calendars. The new year subsequently became known as Bôngabdo or Bengali year

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Muslim, Sufi : Shab-e-Qadr is a Persian name meaning 'the night of power' or 'the night of respect' or 'Evening of Destiny'; the most blessed of all the nights of the year according to Islam. In the Holy quran and hadith it is referred to as Lailatu'l-Qadr. Five verses of Al-Alaq, the first surah of the Quran was revealed. About Shab-e-Qadr the Quran says: it is the night in which the Quran was revealed; it is better than a thousand months; during this night the angels including Jibra'il descended with the permission of their Lord; there is peace all night long.

Muslim, Sufi : The Muslims observe Jumatul Wida, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, with traditional religious fervour and solemnity at the Grand Mosque of Andarkilla in Chittagong. Millions of fasting people offer Friday prayers at mosques and prayer grounds. Jumatul Wida has a special significance since it is a prelude to the departure of holy month of Ramadan and considered the harbinger of the end of the showering of divine blessings that characterize the holy month. Holy Prophet (pbuh) also stressed the sanctity of this day. Paid holiday when falling on Friday

Secular holiday : Chicago, Saturday May 1st, 1886: 350,000 workers go on strike to call for an 8-hour working day. Industries are paralyzed nationwide. On Monday, as demonstrations go on, the police open fire. On Tuesday, Chicago is again on strike. Following a bomb launched against them, the police shoot again. 12 dead, of which 7 policemen. 8 anarchists will be condemned and executed. In 1889, the Socialist International Movement met in Paris and declared this day international workers' day . The Soviets will follow suit, just as the Nazis. In France, under the Vichy regime (1940-1944), the celebration is renamed Labour Day .

Muslim, Sufi : Ends the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. There were 30 days of strict fasting from sunup to sundown in honor of the first revelation to the Prophet Mohammed.

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cards/flowers : Mother’s day has evolved in many countries in different ways. This is because mother’s day has different origins in different countries and therefore occurs on different days in the year. One school of thought claims that this day emerged from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Mother worship which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and Rhea, the wife of Cronus, was held on March 15 to March 18 around Asia Minor. They insist that this custom spread around the world. Mothering Sunday is the celebration of motherhood in the United Kingdom. It is also known as Mid-lent Sunday, Rose Sunday and Laetare Sunday. It originally comes from the Victorian practice of allowing servants to return home to visit their mothers on this day. In the United States, Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 - October 17, 1910) was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet. Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862 and quickly became one of the most popular songs for the Union during the American Civil War. After the war she focused her activities on the causes of Pacifism and women’s suffrage. In 1870 she was the first to proclaim Mother’s Day, with her Mother’s Day Proclamation. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson approved Mother’s Day in 1914

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Culture : Laylat al-Qadr - Islamic belief the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad

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Muslim, Sufi : The second main celebration of Islam. It celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. Muslims make their annual pilgrimage, or the Hajj , to Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia. Paid holiday when falling on Friday

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