Falgun or Phalgun (; ) or Phagun () is the eleventh month of the year in the
Bengali calendar,
the
Assamese calendar, and the
Nepali calendar. In the revision of the Bengali calendar used in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
since October 2019, the month has 29 days in
common year
A common year is a calendar year with 365 days, as distinguished from a ''leap year'', which has 366 days. More generally, a common year is one without Intercalation (timekeeping), intercalation. The Gregorian calendar, used by the majority of ...
s or 30 in
leap year
A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep t ...
s of the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
.
In the previous version of the calendar, used in Bangladesh from 1987 through October 2019, Falgun had 30 days in common years or 31 days in leap years. The month has 29 or 30 days, based on the true movements of the Sun, in the old non-reformed Bengali calendar, still used in
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
and in the Nepali calendar.
Falgun was named for the ''
nakshatra
Nakshatra () is the term for Lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Buddhist astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a prominent star or asterisms in or near the respective s ...
'' (
lunar mansion
Often called lunar mansion, a lunar station or lunar house is a segment of the ecliptic through which the Moon passes in orbit of the Moon, its orbit around the Earth. The concept was used by several ancient cultures as part of their calendrical ...
) ''Uttara phalguni'', in the vicinity of which the full moon appears at that time of the year. It marks the arrival of
spring, the sixth and final season in Bangladesh, West Bengal,
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
, and
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
.
Falgun falls between mid-February and mid-March on the Gregorian calendar.
Observances
* Falgun 1 –
Pahela Falgun (Bangladesh)
* Falgun 7 –
Democracy Day (Nepal)
* Falgun 8
**
Language Martyrs' Day (Bangladesh)
**
International Mother Language Day (Bangladesh, India)
* Falgun 12 – National Education Day (Nepal)
* Falgun 14 –
Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...
(India, Nepal)
* Falgun full moon –
Dol Purnima
Dol Purnima, also popularly known as Dol Jatra, Dola Jatra, Doul Utsav or Deul, is a Hindu swing festival celebrated during the Holi festival of Assam, Bengal, Braj region, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tripura. This festival is dedicated to ...
(India),
Holi
Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...
(Bangladesh, India)
See also
*
Bangla Calendar
*
Culture of Bangladesh
The culture of Bangladesh is intertwined with the culture of the ''Bengal region'' of the Indian subcontinent. It has evolved over the centuries and encompasses the cultural diversity of several social groups of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissa ...
*
Culture of Nepal
The culture of Nepal encompasses the various cultures belonging to the 125 distinct ethnic groups present in Nepal. The culture of Nepal is expressed through music and dance; art and craft; folklore; languages and literature; philosophy and rel ...
References
External links
*
Months of the Bengali calendar
{{Nepal-culture-stub