Culture
- Krishna appeared on earth roughly 5,000 years ago.
- Devotees are adamant about calling Janmastami an "appearance day" instead of a "birthday," because God comes of His own sweet will rather than being forced to take birth due to karma.
- Janmastami takes place in August or early September, with specifics that vary according to the solar calendar. (The Vedic calendar is lunar)
- Janmastami can also be spelled as "Janmashtami" or "Janmasthami."
- Janmastami is a non-sectarian festival and, especially in India, persons of different faiths often participate in the celebrations.
- Krishna is said to have appeared at exactly midnight. Thus devotees fast until midnight on Janmastami. Then a big feast is had by all.
- Janma means birth and ashtami means eighth day – Krishna was "born" on the eighth day of the lunar fortnight.
- The festival is usually celebrated over two days. The first day is called Krishnashtami or Gokulashtami (Gokula is the town in which Krishna was born). The second is Janmastami proper.
- Devotees cook and offer 108 different food preparations to the Lord at midnight. This number is especially significant: there are 108 Upanishads (Vedic books of learning) and 108 gopis (cowherd devotees of Krishna who assist Him in His earthly pastimes)
- Often, in temples, the deities of Radha and Krishna will be dressed in outfits made entirely out of flowers.
- A public bathing ceremony called "Abhishekha" (meaning "a sprinkling") takes place, wherein the deities of Krishna and His consort Radha are bathed with fruit juices and milk products. Devotees then take a sip of the bathing mixture, which is said to cleanse away sins. The procedure of Abhishekha is very similar to the Vedic procedure for a King’s consecration.
- Other festivities include:
- Devotional singing
- Full-length dramas detailing the specifics of Krishna’s appearance and activities
- Reading of sacred texts
- Traditional Indian dances
- "Dahi Handi," a ceremony held in certain parts of India, most notably Maharastra. Young men and children form a human pyramid to reach a clay pot filled with butter or curds, break it and claim the prize. This practice evokes Krishna’s famous childhood pastime, wherein He and His cowherd friends stole milk products hung out of reach by their mothers.
- Krishna also periodically appears in other forms, but Janmastami focuses on His appearance in His original two-armed form as a cowherd boy.
- Although He is God, master of the universe, Krishna prefers to spend His time as a simple cowherd boy. After death, Vaishnavas (devotees of Krishna) aim to join Him in His celestial home of Braj, where they will assist Him in His activites, loving Him, being with Him. This truth is the essential religious spirit found in the hearts of devotees on Janmastami.
- Puranic literature prescribes setting up a diorama of the birth scene to celebrate Janmastami. This would include the divine child in some sort of crib, as well as his mother and father and some other ladies present. The image is then worshipped with arati. The giving of gifts to the divine child is also mentioned. This presents an interesting parallel with Christianity.
- It is also recommended that a couple who want a child themselves worship Krishna, the divine child, on His appearance day.
