Hindus celebrate Janmashtami by fasting, worshiping krishna and staying up until midnight, and offer prayers at special time, when krishna is believed to have been born. Images of Krishna's infancy are placed in swings and cradles in temples and homes. At midnight, devotees gather around for devotional songs, dance and exchange gifts.
Some temples also conduct readings of the Hindu religious scripture Bhagavat Gita. Gokulashtami or Gokula Ashtami (Janmashtami or Sri krishna Jayanti) celebrates the birthday of Lord Sri Krishna. Gokulashtami is celebrated with great fervor in south india. In Tamilnadu the people decorate the floor with kolams (decorative pattern drawn with rice batter). geetha Govindam and other such devotional songs are sung in praise of Lord Krishna. Then they draw the footprints of Lord krishna from the threshold of the house till the pooja room, which depicts the arrival of Lord krishna into the house.
Andhra Pradesh state Recitation of slokas and devotional songs are the characteristics of this festival. Another unique feature of this festival is that young boys are dress up as Lord krishna and they visit neighbors and friends. Different varieties of fruits and sweets are first offered to Lord krishna and after the pooja, these sweets are distributed among the visitors. The people of Andhra Pradesh observe a fast too.
