Goa Cuisine
  Goa Dances
  Goa Festivals
  Goa History
  Goa Museums
  Goa People
 

View all ››

View all ››

Festivals of Goa
....................................................................................................

Goa, by itself, is one long festival. The Goanese calendar is marked by several feast days. Goa’s Christian heritage is reflected in the number of feast days and festivals that follow the religious calendar. Some of the festivals which are celebrated in Goa are New Year, Reis Magos, the Feast of Three Kings, the Feast of our Lady, Goa carnival, Harvest Festival, Shigmotsav, Good Friday / Easter, Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas, Procession of All Saints, Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Food and Cultural Festival, etc. Various local Christian and Hindu festivals including the feast days of patron saints of villages and temple festivals are also held in Goa. The major local Hindu festivals include the Birth of Lord Krishna in the month of August and Diwali in the end of October which is celebrated with a big procession and fireworks. Thanksgiving, monsoon celebrations, and processions, and the temples and churches of Goa are unique in their celebration of these festivals. Besides such religious festivals, Goa is also known for its arts and crafts fairs, and food festivals.

Feast of Three Kings
In the Feast of Three Kings, at churches local boys re-enact the story of the three kings bearing gifts for Christ. The Lady of the Mount is famous for her wondrous protection and miracles and is also reputed to be the giver of children to sterile mothers. On the day of the festivity she is covered with jewellery as tokens of gratitude by Catholics and Hindus alike for favors and blessings received. The chapel as well as the image are very ancient and are steeped in historical associations, traditions, and legends. Every year thousands of devotees congregate at the  stone chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Reis to offer prayers of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception - a lighthouse of faith and courage to its people. High mass is offered on the day of Epiphany and it is a time to rejoice and partying. The tolling bells call the faithful to prayer and devotees visit the shrine in a non-stop stream. Many come to offer their thanks for fulfilling their wishes. The devotees are always lead by a drummer-boy with his kettledrum who, by the loud beat of his drum, announces of another favor having being granted by the Lady of Remedios.

Shigmotsav
Shigmotsav is the Goa’s version of the Hindu spring festival Holi which is celebrated in the month of March - April for about one week. Coloured water and powders are thrown around at everyone and anyone. The parade of colourful floats with mythological themes are taken out in all major towns.

Sabado Gordo
Sabado Gordo is a part of the Goa carnival which is held in the month of March all over Goa. This festival is held on the Saturday before Lent. It’s celebrated by a procession of floats and raucous street partying.

Goa Carnival
Goan carnival is held in the month of February - March all over Goa, mainly at Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa. This carnival is celebrated for three to four days on the occassion of the arrival of spring. The Goa Carnival is known all over the world. Carnival in Goa is a non-stop 4 days festival of color, song and music, colourful processions, floats and dances providing a healthy entertainment for all, young and old. The soothing climate, full of fun and frolic, which the Carnival generates, is much longed for. It does not matter whether one enjoys or see others enjoying. There is enthusiasm and happiness all around. The Goa Carnival is an integral part of the Portuguese heritage of the state. Though celebrated for only three days, the preparations for the festival would take many days, and build up to a frenetic pitch by the eve of the carnival. The carnival in Goa still retains the core of the original. A King of Chaos is elected, called King "Momo". He presides over the three-day festivities, which attract visitors from all over India and abroad. In Panaji there are colourful street parades with spectacularly costumes, floats and dancing along the lines of Mardi Gras and Rio’s carnival. Street Plays, songs, dances, and unrehearsed farces mocking the establishment are performed before an enthusiastic, responsive audience. Floats depicting popular lullabies and nursery rhymes make a whimsical and colorful sight on the streets. The contestants wear colorful costumes and elaborate masks. In the three days of celebrations, cultural functions and competitions abound, and are judged by specially selected people. King Momo distributes the prizes to the winners.

Jesus rose from his grave on the following Sunday, which is celebrated as Easter. The rituals for Good Friday begin on the preceding Thursday. A feast symbolising the last supper of Christ is held on Thursday night. The end of this meal marks the beginning of the fast for Easter. In Panjim, hundreds of devout Goan Catholics gather in the Panjim Church of Mary Immaculate Conception to listen to mass and participate in the Way of the Cross. During the afternoon sermon, the priests narrate the sufferings that Jesus Christ took upon himself for the sake of humanity. The mass is in Konkani, Goa's state language, attracts a crowd too large for the church itself, and people stand in the doorways and in the premises, dressed in formal clothes with somber countenance. After the mass, the crucifix, which until this time has been kept from view, is now uncovered before the crowd for veneration. A very somber ceremony, "the Way of the Cross" is a reenactment of the path Jesus took on Mount Calvary before the Crucifixion. In Panjim, which draws the largest crowd, a large wooden cross carried by an image of Jesus is taken from the church, down the steps, and through the streets of the town. It is carried by the clergymen while the crowd follows in two parallel lines in front of and in back of the statue, some weeping and all with very solemn faces. Those not participating in the actual procession look on from the roadsides, both Hindus and Christians alike. Somber music played by a band accompanies the procession, which slowly winds its way through the main streets in Panjim before returning to the church. The mass and procession occur in every church in Goa, but the one in Panjim draws the largest crowd.

Procession of All Saints
On the Monday after the 5th Sunday in Lent i.e. in the month of March or April, there is a procession in which all 26 status of the saints from St Andrew’s are brought out from storage and paraded around Old Goa’s neighbouring village. This dates from the 17th century and is the only procession of its kind outside Rome. It is accompanied by a large fair where old fashioned hand held fans, a local handicrafts, are sold. Also actors and musicians perform in villages.

Feast of Our Lady of Miracles
Feast of Our Lady of Miracles is held on the nearest Sunday, 16 days after Easter. On this day, a huge fair and market is held at Mapusa. This festival is secular by nature and is celebrated with pomp and show by Christians. This festival is also celebrated by Hindus in honour of the Goddess Lairaya.

Beach Bonanza
Several food and entertainment festivals, know as ‘Beach Bonanzas’, are held at various beach towns.

Igitun Chalne
Igitun Chalne is held at Sirigao Temple in Bicholim province in the month of May. This fire-walking festival is one of Goa’s most distinctive festivals. The main attraction of the festival comes when devotees of Goddess Lairaya walk across burning coals to prove their devotion.

a thanksgiving ceremony for the arrival of the monsoon. Young men tour the area singing for gifts. They also jump into wells!

Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul
Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul is another monsoon festival, celebrated by the fishing community, particularly in the region of Bardez, between Panaji and Mapusa. This feast is held on the 29 June all over Goa. A floaing stage is erected on fishing boats tied together and a pageant is held as they float downstream. Dance, drama and music performances are held on makeshift stages floating on river.

Feast of St. Lawrence
Feast of St. Lawrence is held on 10 August, all over Goa. This feast celebrates the reopening of the sandbars in the Mandovi river to river traffic and the end of the monsoon.

Harvest Festival of Novidade
In the Harvest Festival of Novidade, the first sheaves of rice are offered to the priests on the 21st August and to the Governor and Archbishop and placed in the Cathedral on the 24th August. The festival includes a re-enactment of one of the battles between Alburquerque and the Adil Shah on the lawns of the lieutenant Governor’s Palace.

Fama de Menino Jesus
Fama de Menino Jesus is the Colva’s biggest feast day held on the second Monday in the month of October. This festival is when the menino Jesus (a statue of the infant Jesus said to perform miracles) is paraded.

Goa Heritage Festival
Goa Heritage Festival is a two-day cultural event held at Campal in the month of November in Panaji, Goa. This fstival features music, dancing and traditional food.

Tiatr Festival
Tiatr Festival is another drama-arts programme held as a competition at the Kala Academy in the month of November in Panaji.

with prizes awarded to the best performing group at the end.

Feast of St. Francis Xavier
Feast of St. Francis Xavier is the Old Goa’s biggest festival which is held on 3rd December. This feast is preceded by a 10-day Novena. There are lots of festivities and huge crowds during this period, especially for the Exposition of St Francis Xavier’s body, which is held once every 10 years.

Feast of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
A large fair and a church service is held at the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th December in Panaji. Around the same time, Margao celebrates with a large fair.

Diwali
Diwali is the day when the festive focus has shifted from the city stores and markets to homes and hearths. Diwali is celebrated as the victory of good over evil. In this festival, everyone greets everyone else with warmth and affection. Goa wears a festive look with colourful "Akashdive" (skylamps) and festoons. In Diwali's symbolic victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness, giant effigies of the demon 'Narkasura' are burnt in the early hours of the morning. Before the burning ceremony, these effigies are paraded in the streets of Panjim, Mapusa, Margao and Vasco. Even in villages like Assagao, youngsters put up sizable Narkasuras.

Food and Cultural Festival
Food and Cultural Festival is celebrated for five days in Goa. This festival is planned to give special focus on Goa with reference to Seafood and is an annual feature. Goan food is as famous as the Goans' endeavour for poetry, painting and music. Goans' have elevated cooking to a delicate art, thereby evolving a unique cuisine, which is an inspired blend of the Western and Indian variety. However, the pride of the place goes to seafood with a host of fresh varieties. A number of stalls run by reputed caterers both from the best hotels as well as restaurants and even housewives offer one a rich experience of Goan cuisine. There are also stalls catering to aerated drinks, alcoholic beverages, ice-creams and snacks. Cultural programmes and fire works display are also presented, which also concludes the food celebration.

people masquerading as Santa stalk customers, particularly children with gifts in the big cities. Families get together and an air of excitement pervades the state. Decorated and glittering Christmas trees are all over the place. For the devout, the celebrations begin on Christmas Eve. Carols are sung and various churches organize the midnight Mass. The service on Christmas Day is attended by Christians dressed in new clothes. After the morning congregation is over, people assemble in their homes for the family get-togethers. Some of the famous dishes during Christmas include the Goan Pork Sorpatel, Chicken Cabdel, all rounded off by the rich Bebinca – a many layered version of the plum pudding.

observed. It is an occasion to clean and decorate the house, to receive the divine guest Lord Ganesha, to get together with family and friends, to exchange gifts, and to rejoice the birth of the Lord with new attire, dance and music. Year after year, Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in the Goa culminates with the harvesting season. Lord Ganesha's images in various sizes and forms usually adorn street corners in gaily decorated Pandals, which are put up by local associations or merchant groups in the city areas. Preparations normally begin several days in advance. Elaborate arrangements are made for lighting and decoration and Ganesh is fervently worshipped for about 7-10 days. Ladoos (sweets) are distributed, milk is offered to idols of Lord Ganesha at home and at temples, and worshippers visit Ganesha temples for Ganesh Puja. On the day of the Chaturthi, i.e. the last of the days dedicated to the god, shrines are erected, firecrackers let off, huge images of Ganesh are carried in grand procession for 'Ganesh Visarjan' accompanied by the sound of devotional songs and drums.