Tourism
of Goa
Fairs
& Festivals
Hindu
FestivalWith
the majority of the population being Hindu, Goa has scores of festivals
celebrated all around the year. All these festivals do not occur on fixed
dates of the caldendar year, since they are based on the Hindu calendar.
Despite the long period of Portuguese colonisation, the Hindu
festivals have retained their unique Goan character and are celebrated with
deep fervour.
In Hindu mythology, Goa is called the land of the
Gods and with good reasons. There are hundreds of Gods and Goddesses with
differing names, tastes, rituals and traditions. Most of these have remained
unchaged over the centuries while others have adapted to the changing times
and circumstances.
Quite a lot of the Goan festivals are actually
Jatras (feasts) of the local or family deity celebrated at the temple of the
God or Goddess called Devasthan. It is a festive and colourfull occassion in
the temple complex with thousands of devotees taking part in the
celebrations and the palakhi (palanquin) procession.
Other
festivals like Dussehra, Diwali and Holi are the same as those celebrated
around India but with the characterstic Goan flavour. The Goan Hindu
community mainly celebrates Ganesh Chathurti, Gudi Padwa, Diwali, Dassra
(Dussehra), Holi, Rakshabandhan, Ramnavmi and Krishnajanmashtami.
Ganesh
Chaturthi, undoubtedly, is the ‘numero uno’ festival of Goa.
Celebrated around August or September, it sees the return of most Goans to
their native place of birth or their ancestral houses to join the entire
family. Most towns and cities in Goa wear a deserted look as Goans return to
their native places in the hinterland.
Diwali, the festival of
lights is celebrated all over India. Its roots go back to the time when Lord
Ram killed the demon king Ravan. Ram was welcomed in his hometown Ayodhya by
a celebration of crackers and lights. In northern India, the festival ends
when an effigy of Ravan is burnt with an arrow of Ram.
But the
same occasion is celebrated a day before Diwali in Goa – and not on the
last day of Dussehra – with the burning of the effigies of Narkasur as
the demon King Ravan is called locally. All around Goa, huge effigies of
Narkasur - dressed in colourful paper clothes and armed with swords and
other armaments - are erected in the days preceding Diwali. They are then
burnt just before sunrise.
To view the
details, Click on the Following Hindu Festivals Celebrated in Goa:
Chovoth
Diwali
Gokulashtami
Holi
Lairai
Jatra
Nagpanchami
Gudi
Padwa
Raksha
Bandhan
Ram
Navmi
Vasco
Saptah
