Bengali New Year is observed as a public holiday in Bangladesh. It is celebrated across religious boundaries by its Muslim majority and Hindu minority. According to Willem van Schendel and Henk Schulte Nordholt, the festival

became a popular means of expressing cultural pride and heritage among the Bangladeshi as they resisted Pakistani rule in the 1950s and 1960s.
The day is marked with singing, processions, and fairs. Traditionally, businesses start this day with a new ledger, clearing out the old. Singers perform traditional songs welcoming the new year. People enjoy classical jatra plays. People wear festive dress with women desking their hair with flowers. White-red color combinations are particularly popular.

People of Bangladesh prepare and enjoy varieties of traditional festive foods on Pahela Boishakh. These include panta bhat (watered rice), ilish bhaji (fried hilsa fish) and lots of special bhartas (mash)