Each village in coastal Goa has a church that celebrates feast each year
in honour of its patron saint.
In Salcete, feast day celebrations start soon after monsoon season is over
and normally end just before the beginning of another monsoon season.
Chinchinim church starts celebrating in the first week of September and
Margao
Holy Spirit Church has its feast day towards end of May.
The main feast day mass is usually at about 10 am and is followed by a
procession accompanied by a brass band in the open space in front of the
church.
The procession starts with blue capes confraria members, followed by the
red
cape confrades. Then comes a canopy held by six top class red cape confrades
under which marches the parish priest in colourful regalia that would put
to shame
an India male peacock.and the mass of faithful congregationists.
Thanks to the policies of the then colonial church these feast day
processions were
eagerly awaited events which gave villagers and other invitees a clue as to
who
belonged to which caste or class.
