Janmashtami in 2022 is on the Wednesday, 12th of August (12/08/2022).
Janmashtami is one of the most important Hindu festival which is celebrated as a birth day of Hindu Lord Krishna (the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) who was born as the eighth child to Devaki and Vasudeva in a prison in the custody of his uncle Kansa who was his mother Devaki's brother. It is also called as Krishnashtami, Gokulashtami, SaatamAatham, Yadukulashtami, Srikrishna Jayanti and Sree Jayanti. It is a Gazetted holiday in many states of India such as Bihar, Chandigarah, Chattisgarah, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Miizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Lord Krishna played an important role in Mahabharata and his role was significant for helping the Pandavas winning the battle of Kurukshetra. He is also known for propagating the theory of bhakti and karma which are written in the Bhagwat Geeta. Bhagwat Geeta is a 700-verse Hindu scripture which is a narrative framework of a dialogues between PandavaArjuna and his charioteer Lord Krishna and is also a part of the epic Mahabharata.
It is celebrated on the Ashtami (eighth day) of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the Hindu month of Shravana by Hindus with great fervour and enthusiasm in India and beyond. It is believed that the main objective of Lord Krishna's birth was to free the Earth from the evilness of demons.
Janmashtami celebrations takes place during the midnight as Lord Krishna was born in the dark and stormy night. It is mainly celebrated in Mathura and Vrindavan where Lord Krishna spent most of his life.
On this auspicious day, all the temples of Krishna are decorated with flowers and illuminated during night time. Mantra and shlokas are chants in the temples by the devotees and pandits. They also sing bhajans and kirtans in the temples.
Dahi Handi is another important feature of this festival which is celebrated on the next day after Janmashtami. This is celebrated as a ritual of an imitation of Lord Krishna's actions because when Lord Krishna was a kid, he was named "Makhanchor" as he used to steal butter and his foster mother Yashoda used to tie him up in order to stop him from stealing butter. Females in Vrindavan used to keep butter in a pot (handi) and tie it on a height so that Krishna could not steal it but Krishna along with his friends used to form a human pyramid to steal the butter tied on a height. This is the reason why during DahiHandi festival, boys come together to form human pyramid to break an earthen pot (handi) which is fixed at a height from the ground.
| Day | Date | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | January 26 2022 | Republic Day |
| Tuesday | March 01 2022 | Maha Shivaratri |
| Friday | March 18 2022 | Holi |
| Thursday | April 14 2022 | Mahavir Jayanti |
| Friday | April 15 2022 | Good Friday |
| Tuesday | May 03 2022 | Eid-ul-fitar |
| Monday | May 16 2022 | Buddha Purnima |
| Sunday | July 10 2022 | Eid-ul-adha |
| Monday | August 08 2022 | Muharram |
| Monday | August 15 2022 | Independence Day |
| Friday | August 19 2022 | Janmashtami |
| Sunday | October 02 2022 | Gandhi Jayanti |
| Wednesday | October 05 2022 | Dussehra |
| Sunday | October 09 2022 | Id-e-milad |
| Monday | October 24 2022 | Diwali |
| Tuesday | November 08 2022 | Guru Nanak Jayanti |
| Sunday | December 25 2022 | Christmas |