Haal Khata is a festival celebrated by

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

merchants, shopkeepers and traders on Poila Boisakh (the first day of the Bengali Calendar) by opening a new

ledger A ledger is a book or collection of accounts in which account transactions are recorded. Each account has an opening or carry-forward balance, and would record each transaction as either a debit or credit in separate columns, and the ending or ...

History

Mughal emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

established a new calendar based on the old solar

Bengali calendar The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar ( bn, বঙ্গাব্দ , , Baṅgābda), colloquially ( bn, বাংলা সন, Baṅgla Śon), is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. A revised version of t ...

in 1584 to ease taxation. The Mughals used "Halkhata Mahurat" to collect taxes and the tradition of Haal Khata is believed to be originated from this. Haal Khata is a Bengali tradition that is over 430 years old. Haal means updating and Khata means ledger.

Celebrations

On the first day of the Bengali year, traders close old ledgers and open a new ledger for the new year. Customers are invited to settle old debts and start fresh. The event is marked by a special Puja by the Hindu traders & shopkeepers. Seeking to improve their relationship with customers, traders give sweets, snacks, or gifts to them. The

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

is celebrated in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, and

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is believed to bring good luck to the business.

References

Cultural festivals in Bangladesh Festivals of Bangladeshi culture Cultural festivals in India Festivals established in 1584 Bengali festivals {{Bangladesh-stub