Krishna Janmashtami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is observed on the Astami tithe, the eighth day of the Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadau in Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra is ascendant. The festival always falls within mid-August to mid-September in the Gregorian calendar.

Devotees fast on the previous day (Saptami, seventh day), which is followed by a night-long vigil commemorating the birth of Krishna at midnight in the jail where his maternal uncle Kansa was keeping his parents captive, and his immediate removal by his father Vasudeva to a foster-home for safe-keeping.

At midnight, the idol of the infant Krishna is bathed, adorned in new clothes and jewellery, placed in a cradle and worshiped. The fast is completed after Aarti, a special prayer. At day break, ladies draw patterns of little children’s footprints outside the house with rice-flour paste, walking towards the house. This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home i.e. their homes.