The Hindu festival of Janmashtami is taking place on Wednesday 6 September.
The day is all about celebrating the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of the god Vishnu.
Janmashtami always falls on the eighth (ashtami) day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. This falls in either August or September each year.
The festival itself is celebrated on Wednesday 6 September and Dahi Handi is celebrated the following day on Thursday 7 September. Many see the festival as a celebration of good over evil.
How it is celebrated
On the day before Janmashtami, Hindus fast until midnight to acknowledge it as the time of Krishna’s birth. Once the fast is broken, they bathe figures of Krishna in water and milk, dress them and worship them.
Temples and household shrines are decorated with leaves and flowers. Sweetmeats are first offered to Krishna and then distributed as leftovers to members of the household.
Devotees also construct representations of Mathura, where Krishna was born, the Yamuna River, over which he was transported to safety, and Gokul, where he spent his childhood.
People sing and dance together in celebration in honour of the god.
We know that Bracknell Forest has a thriving Hindu community, and we wish them all a blessed celebration.
