It’s that time of the year where houses sport a Christmas star and colourful
décor and one can see the glow on the streets in front of these bungalows,
buildings and societies.
It’s indeed a wonderful time of the year
with everyone into the Christmas spirit. Be it the cribs in their houses, the
Christmas trees and beautiful seasonal decorations adorning the walls, the
ambience reflects the enthusiasm and celebration.
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This is just not indoors though; one can
spot the Christmas décor in public spaces, and not just outside Churches and
chapels. From the malls, to the fields, to the roads and small lanes, you can
find people sprucing up Christmas cribs.
Now while every Christmas, Goans love to
get creative with their decorations, in Margao, Sanjay Fernandes goes a step
ahead by making customised cribs with innovative ideas. Wooden pieces which are
usually discarded as waste are given a new life in the nativity scene that he
puts up. The cribs on sale are displayed near pick up stand, near Royal Foods,
Margao. “This year, I have also used thermacol and plaster of Paris as these cribs
are long lasting and can be used for years,” says Sanjay.
Besides this there are giant cribs that
turn into into major attraction during the last week of December and first of
January across Goa. One such place is near the national highway at Gorvoti
Nuvem. The group behind this, Red Box had set up the ‘Christmas City’ at Goa
Velha last season which received a great response and this year,they have
decided to move to Nuvem. This will also include live entertainment as well
Christmas-related activities.
There are others like the nativity scene
created by Charleston and Fainna D’Costa in Porvorim. Another made totally out
of pulses.
In addition, you have carol singing groups
with their melodious voices that bring forth that Christmas warmth and joy. One
such group invited public to join them to sing carols outside the Panjim Church
Square and the response was terrific. “It was our friend John Lino’s idea to do
something fun for Christmas. So within two days we got our friends together for
a caroling jam up in front of Panjim Church,” said Nicole Suares.
There are groups that reenact the nativity
scene by dressing up in traditional and festive attire and pose as baby Jesus,
Mother Mary and St Joseph.
Revellers
even dress up as Santa Claus visiting each and every household in the town
distributing sweets and gifts.
