Hi Jorge, Thanks for pointing out the technical distinction. May 30th is indeed 'Goa Statehood Day' and not "Goa Day". But with all due respect, you have totally missed the point I was making. My point is May 30 is legally designated as Goa's birthday like the July 4 for USA and August 15 for India.
April as time for public celebration is poor timing of the year because it is still winter in North America and Europe. This whole discussion is what Goans are famous for - Making an issue out of a non-issue (also like the Goenchim prize). If you want to celebrate Goan culture in May be my guest. If you desire to celebrate Goan culture in August be my guest too. If you want to celebrate both events (Goa statehood Day and Goa Language Day) that would be even more wonderful. And if you also want to celebrate Asmitai Dis in January that would be terrific. The sad part to all these discussions is that Goans do more arguing that getting on with the job and accomplishing it. As a community we do not recognize, celebrate and practice Goan culture enough. And there are scientific studies to prove that!!! We have substituted our Goan cultural celebrations with picnics. And now we have only picnics with no culture!!! So the more Goa-specific celebrations we have throughout the year, the more likely we are to appreciate that Goan culture like or language is an ongoing and important aspect to "uphold, nurture and foster our identity." Regards, Gilbert. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jorge/Livia de Abreu Noronha Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 12:08 PM To: Goanet Subject: Re: [Goanet] RE: Goan culture: World Goa Day From: Gilbert Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on Tuesday, July 01, 2003 12:53 PM > > You have a point Pat. Historically speaking the birthday of Goa is May > 30- which as you well know is designated as Goa Day. < If I may say so, Gilbert, May 30 is the birth day of Goa as a state, and therefore it is called "Goa Statehood Day" and not - as far as I know - "Goa Day". < < To me, World Goa > Day is a celebration of the Goan culture. Of Goan culture and heritage. And, as our culture, heritage and identity as a people is based principally on our language and literature (even when we are not much conversant with these), August 20 was chosen in 1999 to be the "World Goa Day" because it was on that date in 1992 that Konkani was recognised as one of India's "national" languages and included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution. We could, in case there is a consensus around the matter, change WGD to April 9, the day which, marking the anniversary of Shennoy Goembab's death in 1946, is celebrated in Goa as "Konkani Day". August 20 has already been contested by some netters, so I hereby invite Rene Barreto (the "father" of WGD) to think about the convenience - or otherwise - of adopting April 9 instead of August 20 as WGD. Another appropriate date would be January 16, to honour the day in 1967 when by a majority vote Goans decided against the merger of the territory with Maharastra and so upheld the distinct identity of Goa. After all, the main purpose of the WGD, as I see it, is to uphold, nurture and foster our identity. Jorge ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
