Celebrate Krishna Janmashtami in your apartment
India, being the land of festivals, contains a structured diversified population. The festivals celebrated here not only bestow joy and happiness but also spread love and brotherhood among people. Each festival has a great significance behind its origin and celebration. One such festival is Krishna Janmashtami.
The origin and significance:
This is one of the most popular Hindu festivals and celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. The festival is based on a mythological belief that Lord Krishna was born to King Vasudeva and Devi Devaki in Rohini Nakshatram on the eighth day of the fortnight in the month of Shravana. As Lord Krishna made his presence during midnight, the celebrations take place at this time.
The celebrations of this festival start before the dawn and are continued till the midnight. All the temples which have the deity in them are beautifully decorated and organised with colourful flowers and embellishments. The devotees gather at the temples and chant the name of Lord Krishna along with rhythmic hymns, bhajans and so on. A large spread of fruits, sweets and various milk products like curd, which is one of the most important ingredient, and Krishna’s favourite food is kept. The idol is bathed with auspicious liquids and is wrapped with colourful apparels. Activities like a procession, plays and tabloids are staged in various parts of the city.
How to celebrate it in your apartment?
Invite people and create awareness:
With contemporary concepts coming up in many homes, the traditional concept has lost its essence. In order to retain this, make sure you invite all the apartment members for the celebration of the event. Also ask them, if they have ideas on how to plan the celebrations in the apartment.
Choose a theme:
A thematic festival celebration would be one of the best things which can be carried out during this event. Choose a theme which is related to the festival and also you can ask your guests to dress up accordingly. The venue can also be decorated according to the theme.
The activity; Dahi- Handi:
This year the festival is celebrated on the 10th of August 2012 in various parts of the city. The festival which is also popularly known as Dahi-Handi commemorates the playful part of Krishna. To celebrate this event, you can choose a suitable place in your apartment like the lawn, garden or any other place. Ensure that the chosen place is spacious enough and should be easy to clean after the event.
The activity; Raas Leela:
To celebrate this activity, you can have a place which is sheltered well and has a high area wherein the drama can be staged prominently. This event is a dramatic enactment of Krishna’s life and is mostly celebrated in Mathura and Vrindavan. This day is also celebrated in Jammu and is marked with an important aspect of kite flying.
Midnight Kirtan in your apartment:
This is one of the best ways to celebrate the festival wherein the guests can be invited in your apartment and a midnight Kirtan can be organised. The guests can come dressed according to the theme and one can also lead the singing of bhajans and aarti performing.
Decoration of the place:
In order to celebrate this festival with pomp and show, one can decorate their apartment with colourful flowers and balloons. You can also mount postures and pictures of the god and his companions. This adds up charm to the festivity.
A hymn programme:
To invoke the festivity significance, you can organize a hymn session by gathering all your apartment members. You can also play few of the renowned bhajans and other devotional songs.
Fasting:
Although few of them might consider fasting a tedious task, one can make people aware about the positive consequences of a fast and encourage them to fast. Ensure that a person is appointed to prepare the Prasad which will be eaten while breaking the fast. The fasting should be broken only at midnight.
A story telling session:
In order to make more people aware about the significance of the event, you can gather a group and tell them the stories about Lord Krishna and the related incidents.
