Valentine's Day in Bangladesh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Valentine's Day is a day celebrated every year on February 14 in Bangladesh. Although this day has been celebrated all over the world since 498 AD,[1][2] it has been popular in Bangladesh since 1960.[citation needed] In Bangladesh, especially young people exchange various greeting cards, flowers, chocolates or gifts on this day.[3][4]

History[]

In 1993, Valentine's Day was celebrated in Bangladesh by Shafik Rehman, a journalist and editor of Jaijaidin. He was acquainted with Western culture by studying in London.[5] He highlighted the Valentine's Day to the Bangladeshi people through Jaijaidin newspaper. It is learned that when someone went to his newspaper office in Tejgaon for a job, he had to take his girlfriend with him. Shafik Rehman was the first to use the title Valentine's Day. That is why Shafik Rehman is called the "father of Valentine's Day in Bangladesh".[6] He also named the street in front of his office "Love lane". Due to its publicity in various television and print media and for commercial reasons[7] the day became popular in Bangladesh.[8]

Celebrations[]

This day is widely celebrated by the youth of Bangladesh. However, this day did not have any effect in the village.[4] No public holiday is declared on this day in Bangladesh.

On this day, people in various bonds including lovers, friends, husbands and wives, mothers and children, students and teachers express their love for each other with flowers, chocolates, cards and other gifts. On this day, various parks and recreation centers of the country are full of people of love.[9][10]

Controversy[]

There is a lot of controversy about celebrating Valentine's Day in Bangladesh. Some in Bangladesh feel that celebrating this day is not acceptable from a cultural and Islamic point of view.[11] There is also political debate about Valentine's Day. Before the celebration of Valentine's Day, February 14 was celebrated as the anti-authoritarian day in Bangladesh. As a continuation of the movement against the education policy of the then government in 1983, on 14 February, 10 people were shot dead by the police while the students were marching towards the secretariat to give a memorandum. However, that day is forgotten by people to celebrate Valentine's Day. Some people think that the government has continued to observe this day for its own sake.[4][12][13]

References[]

  1. ^ Butler, Alban (1981). Butler's Lives of the saints. Burns & Oates. ISBN 9780860121121.
  2. ^ Chanchreek, K. L.; Jain, M. K. (2007). Encyclopaedia of Great Festivals. Shree Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 9788183291910.
  3. ^ ভালোবাসা দিবসের জানা-অজানা. banglanews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  4. ^ a b c ভ্যালেন্টাইন্স ডে: অনুভূতি প্রকাশের বাহানা মাত্র?. BBC News বাংলা (in Bengali). 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  5. ^ ভালোবাসা দিবস নিয়ে ইতিহাসে যত কথা. RTV (in Bengali).
  6. ^ কবে থেকে ভালোবাসা দিবসের শুরু :: দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক. The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  7. ^ ভালোবাসা দিবসের প্রচার বাণিজ্যিক কারণে?. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  8. ^ বাংলাদেশে ভালোবাসা দিবসের সূচনা শফিক রেহমানের. Bangladesh Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  9. ^ Minhajuddin (2020-02-14). বিশ্ব ভালবাসা দিবস আজ. Bangladesh News Agency -bna (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  10. ^ ভালোবাসা দিবস আজ. Khola Kagoj BD. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  11. ^ Srivastava, Spriha (4 February 2017). "These countries have banned Valentine's Day". CNBC. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  12. ^ ১৪ ফেব্রুয়ারি : ভালবাসা নয় অশ্লীলতার আগ্রাসন দিবস. The Daily Inqilab (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  13. ^ ‘ভালোবাসায়’ চাপা পড়েছে স্বৈরাচার প্রতিরোধ দিবস. jagonews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
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