Kerala<\/a>, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, to name a few. However, the people belonging to the Vaishnava communities are the ones who celebrate it more prominently. They practice fasting, organize and attend a dance and drama function, have a night vigil, and perform a puja ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo elaborate, Hindus stay awake fasting till the stroke of 12 o’clock at night and then do puja after bathing his image with milk and water and then clothing him. In the puja, people decorate their household shrines, and temples with flowers and leaves, and sweetmeats (‘mishti’, ‘mithai’, etc.,) are offered to him. After the puja, these sweets are then distributed among everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the hardcore Krishna devotees celebrate Janmashtami <\/strong>in a more elaborate manner, by representing each scene of his day of birth with small images of the different personalities involved and miniature wildlife. These include the scenes like Vasudeva passing through the Yamuna with baby Krishna held over his head, Mathura, Gokul, and his younger years.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnother common act includes hanging a huge pot full of milk on tall poles in the streets. And then, the males of that neighborhood form a human pyramid and the one on top breaks the pot. Indeed, this symbolizes Krishna’s naughty young self, whose love and subsequent stealing of curd is a popular story among Hindus. In fact, Krishna is called the popular moniker ‘Makhanchor’ for these childhood antics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The celebrations are high energy and fun and include dancing and singing together. On the day after Janmashtami or Dahi Handi, people engage in fun activities like flying kites, eating traditional sweets, and going to neighborhood fairs, among others. Indeed, this festival occurs over two days, although some do celebrate it over a single day. And that has to do with Krishna entering the life of his foster parents, which is why Nandotsav is celebrated right after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n