It’s a busy time of the year and all the major roads are at the centre of traffic jams, but amidst all this frenetic activity, one gets to listen to Christmas Carols played on loudspeakers. The songs, ranging from the traditional ‘Feliz Navidad’ to the popular ‘All I want for Christmas’ reverberate through the air.
You even get to see groups walking in large numbers singing
Christmas carols, some of them moving from house to house while others choosing
to visit homes for the aged and the like.
And if you have a look at people’s houses as you pass by, most
of the houses are already decked up for Christmas.
Inside these houses that have the Christmas tree, crib and
interiors decorated for the season, the joy of Christmas is such that Goan
families start preparing days earlier for this joyous occasion.
Every year, families get supercharged and energised to celebrate
the best time of the year. It is during this time that boys and girls, the
young and the old put on their favourite outfits and begin to put up the decor,
the Christmas tree, wall hangings, the star and all the other Christmassy stuff
around their homes.
“I’ve just come home for Christmas. Before arriving, I had
already made plans to meet up with friends but as soon as I reached home, my
parents told me to keep all those pans for later as we had to put up the
Christmas decoration. And I am glad they waited for me as we have been putting
up the Christmas décor together for as long as I can remember and it’s great
reliving those memories and making new ones,” says Jolan Abreu.
While there are some houses where the families are famous for
their innovative ideas when it comes to decorating their Christmas trees, there
are some houses that are famous for how the entire house is illuminated for the
festive season.
The symbolism and treats associated with the festival are also
special. A star – symbolising the birth of Christ – is seen hanging on the
front porch of every house. The mouth-watering sweets like bebinca, marzipan
shapes, nevreos, kalkals, dodol, cakes, sugar-coated candies are beautifully
placed on the tray, lying on the table in every house on Christmas day.
“I recently got married and moved to my husband’s house and I
was quite pleased to show them our family recipes and style of making Christmas
sweets. And mind you, we got all the family members involved and hopefully what
we are making will turn out to be as sweet as the effort,” said Isabel
Fernandes.
The excitement of Christmas is so much that it’s palpable even
before the day. “My husband, Rox Gomes, does a countdown to Christmas every
year. He does it on the phone and changes the Whatsapp family group to
different Christmas themes. Christmas is a festival that gets all the family
members together. These days we put on the Christmas lights and listen to
Christmas carols. Our puppy, Bailey, also shares in the excitement of the
family,” says Dr Linoshka D’Silva.
On one hand, you have family members visiting home after a long
period to spend Christmas with their families and on the other hand you have
families getting ready to attend one wedding after the other. And there are
those who are actively involved in their local parishes and are getting ready
for the Christmas Eve mass and celebrations thereafter. “I love this time of
the year and Christmas is always special. Even a simple Christmas carol can set
the mood. I have been listening to carols from the first week of December and
playing it at home whenever I can. In our family, we have this tradition where
each family gets a gift for the others and we are currently busy playing
Santa,” says Larrisa Mendes.
“The Christmassy vibes arise as Angel Gabriel pops up in our
head, hustling us to prepare our hearts for Jesus to be born. The crib is made
prior to the festival with the use of mostly hay as it was a cow shed where
Jesus was born to Mary. Just as Mother Mary and Joseph went out on their long
journey to Bethlehem, we Goans start our journey to decorate our homes with
vibrant coloured decorations with red, green and white as the highlighting
colours. Christmas cannot be complete without a Christmas tree set up, with
cotton buds serving as snow in a state like Goa that has never experienced real
snow. It is a celebration of happiness and joy, where people have get-togethers
and competitions to mingle together happily,” adds Mellisa Pacheco.
“We always make a big life size crib near our residence along
with our neighbours and work for this began last month. It is not so much as to
impress the public that may see it but it is more about how we like to
celebrate Christmas. It is fun for the young ones who get all excited and for
me, this is about spreading that Christmas cheer,” says Felipe Mascarenhas.
This
sense of Christmas joie de vivre can be felt