Filomena Geise asked on behalf of her grandniece, how Christmas is celebrated in Goa. Having lived in the USA for over 3 decades, and now living in Goa, I find Christmas quite and refreshingly different in Goa.
Christmas in Goa is more Christ-centered. Children love to make christmas grottos in their house. It is delightful to see how creative the little children are in decorating their grottoes. There is a great reverence for the Christ child. One does not see Christmas trees in Goa, except at places like 5-star hotels which put up synthetic trees all decorated and lighted up. Instead of Christmas trees lighted stars are hung on balconies, signifying the star that led the Magi to Bethlehem and Christ's birth place in the manger. In our younger days we made stars(some still do) with strips of bamboo, and stretched white paper over the star, and put a light in the star and hung it from our balconies. Nowadays one can buy all kinds of readymade stars that provide a colorful display, when a light bulb is placed inside and it is hung out on the balcony. Many homes put up strings of colored lights, but not as extensively as I used to see in the USA. The Christmas spirit comes late to Goa. Unlike the US and England where the stores and Malls are decorated with Christmas decorations as early as October, here one does not see many decorations until mid-December. One does not feel the pressure to give everyone a gift at Christmas, except perhaps a little toy to the young ones in one's own family. Instead, we bake and fry and stir all kinds of goodies, like Neuris, Kalkals, Bebinca, Dodol, etc. We send plates of goodies to our Hindu neighbors who unfailingly had sent us goodies for Ganesh and Diwali which precedes Christmas by a couple of months. Thank God we do not have the January blues that often result from over-spending for Gifts at Christmas ! People visit each other at Christmas. Of course it is quite warm during the day, but when one attends the Midnight mass, it is cool, as nights and early mornings are quite cool in December. On Christmas day itself, at our church in Socorro, the Catholic Youth Group organizes a party/sports day in the afternoon, with all kinds of party games, usually followed by Bingo. An enjoyable time is had by all. Sometimes Father Christmas (as Santa Claus is called here), makes his appearance. Filomena, I am so glad that your grand niece is thinking of Goa and how Christmas is celebrated here. If you need any more information or digital pictures, feel free to send me a private E-Mail. Vivian A. D'Souza ########################################################################## # 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 # ##########################################################################
