The festival season is right around the corner, and the celebrations are just about to get started. There's a big one coming up this week, which is Janmashtami! This festival is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, by devotees across the world. According to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, he was born on the 8th night of the Bhadrapada or Bhado Maah in 3228 BCE in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
Since Lord Krishna was born at midnight, the celebrations continue onto the second day as well. The devotees of Lord Krishna celebrate this festival all across the country with great excitement. Everyone fast and pray to protect them from evil by decorating their homes and placing an idol of Krishna as an infant on a cradle in your Pooja room. They also perform Raslila, in which they commemorate Lord Krishna’s life and his undying love for Radha. In some parts, a clay pot filled with churned butter is hung on a height for Dahi Handi rituals.
So needless to say, every part of the country witnesses the grandest Janmashtami decoration and celebration every year. Every state has a different way to celebrate these two days of Krishna Janmashtami, Gokulashtami or Krishna Jayanti. For instance, Vrindavan in UP, where Krishna spent his childhood, sees massive celebrations with light, colours and flowers, and so does the state of Dwarka in Gujarat. So you have the choice to either go big with your celebrations or have a cosy one at your home.
Since you’ll be celebrating most of the Janmashtami at home, here are some ideas to ready your home for a celebration like never before.
Get the right idol or statue
To perform Janmashtmi pooja, you have to get a Krishna statue, wash it on a large plate, and then adorn it with new clothes, a crown, flute and necklace or haar. So you need to get some new items or pooja essentials online if you don’t have them already. Since Krishna’s favourite colour is yellow, it would be a great idea to buy a Radha Krishna brass statue pair from our website at a great price. If you prefer to bring the Bal Krishna or Ladoo Gopal home, we also have a brass Thakur Ji, which you can put in a cradle to enact the birth moments of Lord Krishna.
Set a theme for celebrations and decorations
During his avatar as Lord Krishna, he impressed his people with intelligence and strength and performed many incredible feet. So if you're struggling to set a Janmashthari theme, you can choose one of the many different themes from legends or tales that have been told throughout time. It can also be a beautiful way to share a key part of Krishna’s story with your children. The most popular themes are the adventures of Bal Gopal from when Maa Yashoda catches little Krishna for stealing Makhan or Raas Leela when Radha and his friends listen and dance to his flute. You can get wall art showcasing these significant events to enhance the aura of your home, such as Radha Krishna jhula wall art.
Set a stage for the Bal Gopal
While the statue of Lord Krishna is placed inside the Palna or cradle, the cradle must also be placed on a throne or stage. Since most of us place the cradle inside our home or pooja room, you can use a stool or box as the base for decoration. For easy Krishna Janmashtami decoration ideas at home, you can use temporary cardboard boxes and cover them with red cotton or satin cloth which is auspicious for conducting Poojas and a festive colour. But if you're having Kirtans or havan pooja, you should get a stage that's generally larger than this.
Add everything into your decoration that makes this festival special.
There's still so much more you can do to make this festival a celebration worth remembering. You can decorate the Jhula or cradle with colourful satin clothes and tie it to a satin rope so you can rock Ladoo Gopal. You can also make a place to sit on the swing lined with clothes and pillows for Krishna. Since Lord Krishna always wears a peacock feather in his crown, so it is only natural to decorate his attire with it. Janmashtami celebrations must also include handis and lights show for a more festive and lively view, which adds visual interest to places. You can use flowers or garlands to decorate your house for Janmashtami, as flowers are a great way to show celebration spirit. With these ideas, you'll be ready for this Janmashtami festival that you're eager to celebrate!
