Throughout December the people of Dhaka city enjoys a series of occasions making the whole month joyous and festive. But one thing that is observed in abundance across all these festivities is the presence of the colours red and green.
From the very first day, Dhaka city is adorned with red and green decorations to celebrate the month of victory for Bangladesh. All the institutions, government or non-government, show their national pride by draping the buildings with red and white morich baati. Private and public cars are also seen to use small national flags as an accessory during the month in order to show their respect towards the victory month. The little kids playing by the streets also run with a flag in their hands or wear a headband with the national flag on it. These scenes prove the love and interest that the people have to celebrate the victory month to the fullest.
With the victory day celebrations coming to a close, the country gradually moves towards the end of the month, and ‘tis the season to be jolly. With Christmas being the biggest occasion for Christians, the holiday season begins around the world and Dhaka city adapts with similar festive vibes through decorations and accessories. Along with different shapes and sizes of Christmas trees, many shops and restaurants hop on the decor game for Christmas to attract customers, spreading the festive spirit everywhere.
The colour of Christmas happens to also be red and green, along with white. Red resembles blood, which represents the blood of Jesus and green is the colour of the evergreen tree. Altogether red and green represents the eternal life as it stays this hue throughout winter. Along with white being the colour of peace and innocence in many religions and cultures, this colour helps to bring the touch of Mother Mary’s innocence in the festivities. In arts, the virgin mother of Jesus has always been portrayed wearing white clothes strongly to associate her with purity and innocence towards the audience. In this festive season the white acts as the presence of Mary and enhances the Christmas spirit everywhere.
Even after Christmas, the city keeps up the feeling of festivities for the new year by keeping the red and green decorations while adding a variety of colours like golden, silver, or blue sprinkled all over the city. At night the city takes on a magical look, filled with a festive mood due to all the decorations and lighting that lifts up people’s spirits.
People try to match their clothing aesthetics keeping the festivities in mind. Commonly the girls and boys wear red and green sharees and panjabis respectively, on the victory day, which is on December 16, but even after victory day people choose to wear red and green attires to keep up the festive spirit.
When we look back at the month of December, we remember the touch of red and green everywhere. The month owns the colours and spreads the joy of both victory and festivities. Thus December is a month full of festivities for Bangladesh and these celebratory feelings are commonly seen expressed through the colours red and green in every corner. Be it in anyone’s attire or the attire of a building or transport services, the people of Dhaka city use the colours in order to be celebrate the season and spread happiness and joy throughout the city.
Nushin Tarannum Lamia is a student at BRAC University, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, pursuing a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Anthropology.