Janmashtami- a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna

Krishna Janmashtami (Devanagari कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी) , also known as "Krishnashtami","Saatam Aatham" ,"Gokulashtami", "Ashtami Rohini", "Srikrishna Jayanti", "Sree Jayanthi" or sometimes merely as "Janmashtami", is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, an avatar of god Vishnu.

Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day, Ashtami tithi, of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhaadra in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra (Western star name: Aldebaran) is ascendant. Rasa lila or dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna are a special feature in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan, and regions following Vaishnavism in Manipur.

The festival falls between August mid and September mid months of the Gregorian calendar.

The ritual is to fast the previous day (Saptami, seventh day), which is followed by a night-long vigil commemorating the birth of Krishna at night, and his immediate removal by his father Vasudeva to a foster-home for safe-keeping.

At midnight, the deity of the infant Krishna is bathed, placed in a cradle and worshipped.The fast is completed after aarti, a special prayer.

In the early morning, ladies draw patterns of little children's feet outside the house with rice-flour paste, walking towards the house. This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home. This is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and commemorate his love for Radha.

While the Rasa Lila recreates the youthful Krishna's day, Govinda from all those present, teams of young men form human pyramids to reach the pot and break it.

The festival is thus celebrated with great joy and communal togetherness by one and all.

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Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Janmashtami