People across the country celebrated Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest festival of Muslims, on Monday with due solemnity and religious fervour.
The Hindu devotees celebrated Lakshmi Puja while Buddhists observed Probarona Purnima on Tuesday.
People from all walks of life thronged recreational centres in the capital like Shishu Park and National Zoo. Many people also visited different tourist spots across the country including Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar.
Eid-ul-Azha
Muslims throughout the country marked Eid-ul-Azha with prayers and sacrifice of animals.
Dressed in beautiful apparels, the Muslims converged on prayer grounds in the morning to thank Allah for His protection and blessings.
After prayers, affluent Muslims slaughtered animals — cows, goats and sheep — as their sacrifice on the occasion.
Eid-ul-Azha is a celebration that honours the willingness of Ibrahim to obey Allah and also commemorates the end of Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).
The main Eid congregation was held at National Eidgah Maidan in the capital at 8:30am. The authorities said they made special arrangements for women as well as foreign dignitaries and their wives to say Eid prayers at National Eidgah Maidan.
At Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, five congregations took place at 7am, 8am, 9am, 10am and 10:45am.
Two city corporations arranged over 300 Eid congregations in Dhaka.
National flag was hoisted atop government and non-government buildings and roadside poles to mark the festival. Important public and private buildings were also illuminated in the capital city.
President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ershad and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia conveyed Eid greetings to Muslims in Bangladesh and all over the world.
Lakshmi Puja
Hindu devotees across the country worshipped Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, with gaiety and traditional rituals.
People thronged the temples dedicated to the Goddess and offered their prayers, seeking good fortune and prosperity in the time to come. The temples were decorated and illuminated beautifully on the auspicious occasion.
Puja was performed at thousands of households decorated with flowers, earthen lamps and rangoli. Senior-most female members were seen performing the rituals related to Puja.
Lakshmi Puja was also observed collectively in different localities and citizens from different walks of life participated in the community celebration of Lakshmi Puja. Most of the Durga Puja committees celebrated Lakshmi Puja.
Probarona Purnima
Shubho Probarona Purnima, the second largest festival of the Buddhist community, was celebrated across the country with traditional religious festivity and due solemnity.
Also known as Ashwini Purnima, the festival marks the conclusion of a three-month long seclusion of the monks inside their monasteries for self-edification and atonement of their defilement.
The festival follows a month-long preaching of sermons by the Buddhist monks for the welfare of every beings and whole humankind through yellow robes offering ceremony.
According to legend, Gautama Buddha once clipped some strands of hair from his head and said if he was qualified to attain supreme wisdom and enlightenment, the hairs would not fall down but go up instead, which they did.
To mark this event, Buddhists ignited and sent up balloons made of coloured paper to flow towards the sky as a symbol of lighting up the sky which was the main attraction of the festival.
The main attraction of the day’s programmes was to release lighted balloons in the sky soon after the sunset simultaneously from all monasteries.
