Bangladesh is a country where colourful fairs and festivals are held throughout the year in a befitting manner and with great zeal and zest. With changes in social and economic structures, the nature of festivals also changes, but some festivals are so deeply rooted in the social organism that they continue to entertain people from generation to generation. Some of the festivals bear the mark of the community and nation, some have the stamp of religion, and again some bear the impress of politics.

Festivals, which evolved in the primitive society out of the prayer for food, have now become varied and colourful. The main foundation of festivals is ritual and most of the ancient rituals were collective activities. Many of the rituals were related to agriculture and their dates were determined according to the lunar calendar. The ancient rituals were magical processes to tame supernatural powers; in subsequent cultures, this characteristic feature was usually retained. The spontaneous agro-based ancient festivals lost their spontaneity with the passage of time and became more formal.

There is no reliable information about the historical origin of fairs but researchers claim that they started about 3000 years back. It is certain, though, that the early fairs expressed the collective joy of the ancient people. Today fairs are a mix of tradition and modernity. Some of the major fairs are described below.

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