The Christmas season in Goa is a period of excitement and beauty. The community’s anticipation of the Nativity becomes more and more apparent as the colourful lights, decorations and stars that adorn houses, churches, businesses and public spaces increase in number with every passing day. A highlight of the season, and a sign that Christmas is almost upon us, is the appearance of the beautiful and carefully constructed cribs set up across the state.
Setting up cribs is an activity that many Goans look forward to. It is that time of the year where they band together to showcase their devotion to their faith, as well as flex their creative muscles to come up with new ways of making their cribs more aesthetic and appealing. Every year, members of different groups strive to outdo themselves, conceptualizing new ways to make their cribs stand out as unique and innovative. In Panjim, Leadislow Roncon and his family have set up a motorized crib every Christmas for the past 15 years. For Leadislow, constructing the crib brings back memories of working alongside his father. The activity also gives him a chance to spend time with his family. “We have been making our crib here for the past 15 years. Before we shifted here, my father used to make the crib at our old house. Now our family
makes the crib every December. We try to start early because the crib is very intricate. It takes a lot of time and hard work to make.”
Leadislow uses wood, stones, cement, cloth and a variety of materials to set up his crib, in an effort to make the crib stand out from the previous years’ cribs. “The nativity scene is the central part of the crib. We cannot change that, but what we can do is dress it up differently, change the scenery each time. We change the positions of the buildings, the sheep, cows and other statues. We also put up a sky with stars and add motors to individual figures to allow for movement. All of this requires time, to set up the electrical components and wiring.” When asked about the challenges he faced, Leadislow noted that the recent change in weather has affected the process of setting up the crib, “The challenge is the weather. The past few years it has rained in December. I try to start making the crib as early as possible, but it is dangerous for the wires and the motors if it get’s wet. We keep the crib closed till it is completed and then open it in time for Christmas.” He further adds, “Making the crib is an enjoyable experience. It is the people who really matter. When they come to see the crib, they enjoy it. That’s why we do this every year.”
As sustainability takes center stage in an effort to preserve our environment, the Luis family of Damon West Road, Raia, have been making cribs from eco-friendly and waste material for nearly a decade. The Luis family, consisting of Abeleena Olivera e Luis, her husband, Godwin Luis and their two daughters, Lavina and Lavita, use a range of materials to construct their crib. “We have been constructing these cribs every year since 2013, just the four of us. We use grass cuttings, palm leaves, mud, cow dung, garlic and other materials. We use boxes of any kind, cardboard boxes, Frooti packets, to make the three palaces. We go to the neighborhood and get grass cuttings and palm leaves to use in our crib. We even make palm trees out of plastic bottles. I make a few of the figures from plastic myself. Why let anything go to waste when we can use it to make something?” says Abeleena.
The crib not only gives the Luis family a chance to work together but also acts as a display of Goa’s traditional culture. Working on the crib reminds Abeleena of growing up when Goan houses were made of mud and cow dung. “In the olden days, houses were made of mud and cow dung. Cow dung was one of the most important materials, it was better for the environment. With cement houses nowadays, people use the AC and use up a lot of electricity. The way the older houses were constructed, the materials used to keep them cool. We grew up in these houses, studied and now even have children of our own. The houses in our crib are built using mud and cow dung so that they can learn about some of Goa’s old culture.”
The parish youth of Our Lady of Snows Church, Raia, have been actively engaged in setting up their annual crib. Gavin Gomes has been a member of the youth for over seven years and is part of this year’s crib team. “Our youth always put up a crib, every Christmas. There are 80 members of the youth in our church and around 30 of them are part of the team this year. Some of us are in-charge of putting up Christmas decorations while the rest of us build the crib. Some do both. Building the crib is a very enjoyable experience. We get to talk to each other, chit chat and laugh between work, it really brings all of us together. There a few challenges that we had to overcome. One such challenge was setting up the waterfall. We had to make sure that there were no leakage problems.” He further adds, “Even though there is a lot of work to do, setting up the crib is not a very tough job because we have so many people who are taking part. Two people will work on each palace and everyone does their part.”
At St Elizabeth Church, Ucassaim, the parish youth set up their own crib in the church courtyard. Roshan Gomes, a member of St Elizabeth Youth, is in-charge of setting up this year’s crib. “Our parish youth puts up a crib annually in December. We set it up outside here in the church courtyard. This year the team consists of 5-6 members and we’re constructing a smaller version than we did before. Before the pandemic, the youth used to construct a much bigger crib. Then in 2020, due to the pandemic, we did not make a crib. After we resumed crib-making last year, we had less members, so the size of the crib was reduced. We try to make the crib from eco-friendly materials. We avoid plastic. A lot of the materials are sourced from coconut trees, like dried husks, shells and palm leaves. The hills of the crib are made from sacks and sand. We use statues that are quite large while making the crib, so everything else has to be proportional to their size. So while the size has reduced, it’s not really a small crib at all. We start working on it 5-6 days before Christmas and always enjoy the process.”