Janmashtami 2022: Is today a public holiday? Will banks remain open? Know here
There was a lot of confusion regarding which day was Janmashtami this year. The festival is being celebrated on August 18 and 19 as the time of the Ashtami Tithi overlapped on both days, according to Vedic Panchang.
Janmashtami 2022: Janmashtami is a Hindu festival celebrated every year to mark the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. An integral part of Indian culture, Janmashtami is celebrated across states in different ways. The biggest celebration takes place in Mathura and Vrindavan, where Krishna is believed to have been born and spent his growing up years.
On Janmashtami, devotees participate in ceremonies and prayers at temples dedicated to Lord Krishna. The day may be preceded by an entire day of fasting and prayers till midnight, which is when Krishna was believed to have been born.
This year, the festival is being celebrated on August 18 and 19 due to overlapping time of the Ashtami Tithi, according to Vedic Panchang. Although Janmashtami is not a gazetted holiday by the central government, it is a public holiday for schools, colleges, and businesses in many states.
Which states have announced a holiday on Janmashtami?
Janmashtami is a gazetted holiday in Bihar, Chandigarah, Chattisgarah, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Miizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In Tamil Nadu, it is known as Sri Krishna Jayanti.
However, due to the confusion regarding the date of the festival this year, some states have given a holiday on August 18, while some have called it on August 19.
The Haryana government has notified that August 19 will be observed as Janmashtami and will be a holiday in government offices and educational institutions. The Uttar Pradesh government, which had earlier declared August 18 as a holiday, changed it to August 19. Meanwhile, Telangana has declared Janmashtami on August 20.
Will banks be open on Janmashtami?
According to the Reserve Bank of India's holiday schedule, commercial and public sector banks will be closed on August 18, 19 and 20 in certain states due to the festival.
- In Orissa, Uttarakhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, banks were closed on August 18 (Thursday) on the occasion of Janmashtami.
- In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Jammu, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, and Srinagar, banks will remain closed August 19 on the occasion of Janmashtami or Krishna Jayanthi.
- In Telangana, banks will be closed on August 20 on the occasion of Sri Krishna Ashtami.
Meanwhile, banks will remain open in all other states on these days.
