Krishna’s birthday at midnight
Janmashtami 2027
Krishna’s birth, kept at midnight with a fast, bhajans and the cradle, and the next day with dahi handi — abroad, the temples’ biggest night of the year, from Bhaktivedanta Manor to every ISKCON centre.
- Janmashtami 2026
- Thursday, 3 September 2026
- Janmashtami 2027
- Wednesday, 25 August 2027
Janmashtami near you
- No Janmashtami events posted in Belgium yet — the page has the big celebrations and their dates.
Janmashtami events near you
What Janmashtami is
Krishna Janmashtami falls on the eighth day of the dark half of Bhadrapada, and Krishna is born at midnight: the temple is decorated, bhajans run through the evening, the fast is broken after the midnight abhishek and aarti, and the infant Krishna is rocked in a cradle. The next day is Dahi Handi (Gopalkala), when teams build human pyramids to break a pot of curd hung high in the street — Mumbai’s sport. The ISKCON and Smarta calendars sometimes differ by a day.
Outside India the night belongs to the temples: Bhaktivedanta Manor near Watford draws tens of thousands over two days, every ISKCON centre keeps the midnight aarti, the Swaminarayan mandirs hold the cradle ceremony, and Gujarati and Maharashtrian associations hold dahi handi on the weekend. It is a school night, so most communities keep the programme on the Saturday nearest.
Janmashtami in the UK
Bhaktivedanta Manor, ISKCON’s temple near Watford, holds the largest Janmashtami in Europe over two days, with shuttle buses from Watford Junction; the Swaminarayan mandir in Neasden and the temples of Leicester, Birmingham and Manchester keep the midnight aarti.
If it is your first one abroad
- The midnight aarti is the moment; arrive early — the big temples fill by nine and the car parks close.
- A day’s fast until midnight is traditional, with fruit and milk allowed; the temple serves prasad after the aarti.
Previous Janmashtami events
Most of these return every year with the same organisers.
Janmashtami is better with people near you
Free, in every country. Everything below is ranked by how far it is from you.
- Groups near youJoin the Indian community groups in your city — chat, plans and people who get it.
- Events near youEvery festival, garba night and meetup, ranked by distance, with RSVP and reminders.
- Buy and sellSarees, kurtas, furniture, kitchen things — from people a few streets away.
- Rent near youRooms and flats from the community, with the person behind the listing one tap away.
Questions people ask
- When is Janmashtami in 2026?
- Thursday 3 September 2026 on the Smarta calendar, with ISKCON temples keeping it on Friday 4 September; in 2027 it is Wednesday 25 August. Dahi Handi is the following day.
Other festivals
Organising something?
Post it from the app under Events, wherever you are. It is free, a moderator checks it, and it appears here and to every member nearby. Running several a year? Email hello@namaste.community for a listing invite.