Krishna Janmashtami special for kids

Krishna Janmashtami also known as Krishnashtami, is a Hindu festival, commemorating the birth of Lord Krishna. It can be a lot of fun to celebrate it at home in your own way..

1. Dress up like Radha or Krishna on Krishna Janmashtami

 To celebrate, Kids are usually dressed to resemble little krishnas & little radhas. I asked our readers to send in the pics of their kids.. Here are a few,

2. Make some Krishna Related Crafts on Krishna Janmashtami

Krishna Janmashtami – how to make a Krishna crown

We love pretend play in our house! So naturally we would need lots of simple accessories for every occasion. These adorable crowns  are perfect addition to dress up party for ,  Krishna Janmashtami a birthday party or just because. So many creative options to create with from flowers and lace to recycled materials. I love them all!

Krishna loved to wear a peacock feather crown on his head .. to recreate that, we have many options. 

 

 You’ll need –

• Glue stick,
• cardboard
• scissors
• Decorations – beads, glitter, sequins
• Gold wrapper
• Markers
• Gold lace / zari thread.
• Peacock feather
• Single punch

To make –

1. use our crown template – print & cutout a cardboard shape
2. Cover the cardboard crown cutout with gold foil / paper . Stick in place with glue.
3. Embellish the crown with colorful sequins, beads & shiny stickers.
4. Stick a peacock feather on the top.
5. Using the single hole punch, make two holes at the end of the crown cutout and lace the zari or golden thread in. Make sure the length of the thread is long enough to circle your child’s head & then some more to be able to tie a secure knot.
6. And your krishna crown is ready.

3. Make Sweets & savories with your kids.

We have Sandhya Renukamba sending in a recipe that’s specially made on Krishna Janmashtami

How to make Krishna Janmashtami Gopal Kala Prasad

It will be krishna  janmastami soon. It is a festival that is celebrated on the eighth day of the dark (second, waning half) half of the month of Shravan. According to popular mythology,krishna, the 8th incarnation of vishnu from the Dashavatar was born at midnight on this day.

It is believed that Krishna, who grew up as a cowherd, relished all forms of dairy products. The stories of his childhood abound with tales of his mischief, where he and his motley group of playmates would get hold of some milk, butter or curd in any way they could.

Here one recipe of a simple childhood food that is made on Janamashtami, often used as a naivedyam/ prasad.

 I have happy memories from my own childhood about these. My mother would make both types every time, as I loved the sweet variety, and both my siblings preferred the savoury one. Every time she made them, we would wait with impatience for the puja to be done so that we could stuff ourselves with them. Both use an easily available staple – beaten rice as the base.

Savoury Krishna Janmashtami Gopal Kala Prasad 

Ingredients:

2 cups beaten rice, the medium thick variety

1 cup milk

2 cups curds

2 tbsps grated fresh coconut

Salt to taste

A pinch of sugar

1 tsp ghee/ clarified butter

Half tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp jeera

Half tsp black pepper

1-2 dry red chillies

Handful of curry leaves

Half tsp asafoetida/ hing

Fresh cucumber finely chopped – half cup

Carrot finely chopped/ grated – half cup

Some chopped fresh coriander

Wash the beaten rice in drinking water, and drain away the excess. Keep covered for 15-20 mins. The beaten rice swells up and becomes soft. Heat ghee in a vessel, add mustard seeds, dry red chillies, black pepper seeds, curry leaves, jeera and hing, in that order. When the crackling stops, pour the tempering on the soaked beaten rice and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. If it seems too thick, add some more curds and mix. The consistency should be like that of curd-rice. Serve in a bowl and enjoy.