Growing up, come December we kids would be
thrilled. There was so much to do. Cribs and stars to be made, carol singing
competitions to practice for, Midnight Mass choir practice, beat shows, weddings,
fetes, xmas sweets, Christmas dances, cousins and relatives visiting from
foreign countries with gifts for us. Who can forget Santa and the gifts under
the Christmas tree. Christmas carols would be played loudly until the entire
block would be filled with the sound of Christmas. We would go visiting our
relatives across Goa, meet our cousins, check out their cribs and decorations,
stuff ourselves on Kulkuls, Doce de Grão, Batica, Pinacre etc. Every village
parish and social club would have a carol singing competition. There was music,
dancing and Christmas decorations everywhere.
Somewhere down the line I grew up, joined a
band, started to work at my family music store and watched as my friends all
left Goa for better prospects. Between my hectic schedule and their limited
holidays back in Goa for Christmas we still tried to make it a Merry Christmas.
We made it a point to meet up on Christmas day either at my gigs or after the
gigs. My family all met at one relative’s place to make it easier for us all as
we no longer had the time to go visiting each one individually. Our cribs were
smaller and ready made, so were our Christmas trees, we bought our Christmas
sweets at the bakery, sound restrictions
meant our carols at home were softer and shut off earlier. The beat shows and
fetes all faded away. Christmas season became wedding season, the excitement of
which Christmas dance to attend was replaced by which club to go to. Carol
singing competitions were few and far apart.
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Today, we live in a winter wonderland where
our trees and decorations are made of plastic, carols are rarely heard, sweets
are readymade, the ‘which dance to go for’ conversations are now replaced by
decisions about Sunburn or Supersonic
and our Government wishes to celebrate Christmas Day as ‘Good Governance
Day’ which is kind of like wanting to celebrate Independence Day before the
year 1947. One has to have good governance before one can celebrate it.
Yet
through it all, the spirit of Christmas is not far away. Take the time out to
decorate your homes, put on them carols, smile as you greet your neighbour, do
a good deed for a stranger, meet up with your family and friends, take the kids
to see Santa and soon you will find that warm wonderful feeling that the carols
go on about. In our hurry to move forward in this world, let’s not leave the
good bits behind. Now excuse me while I deck my halls with boughs of Holly! A Merry Christmas to you all!
