Once upon a (Goan) Christmas…

It is the season to be jolly. Christmas comes once a year and in Goa, it’s celebrated with as much pomp and grandeur as one can muster. To a visitor during the Christmas season, Goa is a colourful spectrum of lights, especially in the village interiors. In the few days preceding December 25, one would most likely see groups of carolers, raising their voices to the heavens, walking around the village accompanied by a familiar red felt clad figure with a paunch and a bushy white beard – Santa Claus with a sack of goodies draped over one shoulder. An evening sojourn among the village by-lanes is a sight in itself, as the houses come to life at dusk, big paper stars adorning the entrances, carols blaring from open windows, and fairy lights dotting the façades. Many villages and towns hold competitions for the best star, some of them reaching heights of 15 feet and above, and cribs, installation art of sorts that depict the Nativity - the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger.

In the week preceding Christmas, one might find a group of youth, bent over a frame made of bamboo, working on a star, or perhaps growing grass and moulding paper mache caves for the crib. The traditional way of sticking butter paper to the bamboo frame is by using grooth, a sticky rice paste, instead of the usual glue. Many places still do it the old way, including using candles instead of an electrical connection. Christmas trees can be bought at many a shop, more in the towns than the villages. There are many people who also sell fresh trees and it’s quite a funny sight to see youth balancing eight to ten foot fern trees on their motorbikes and making an effort to ride a few kilometers back home, the tree half trailing on the road behind.

Alternatively, walk through the village markets and you’ll get immersed in the Christmas spirit. Apart from sweets, shops are filled with various decorations – silver and golden angels, red and white striped candy canes, golf ball-sized baubles in the various colours of the rainbow, mistletoe, different sizes of Christmas trees, and stars to adorn your tree or perhaps, your balcony.

The local markets and the Friday market at Mapusa, in North Goa, in particular are filled with various sweets and savouries that traditionally go along with the joyous festival. Mostly home-made, these recipes are carried down over the ages, handed down from mother to daughter or even (albeit rarely) a son who loves spending time in the kitchen. Marzipan, cul culs, guava cheese, jujubes and many more exotically named delicacies are offered in most households to visiting friends and relatives. It’s just one of the few things that make Christmas special.

The making of these sweets is a tradition in itself, including the traditional Christmas cake, the liquor soaked dry fruits marinated over months. In fact, many five-star hotels offer guests a chance to partake in this ritual, making the mix a year in advance. A few hours of getting one’s hands dirty is quite an experience for the select few. Of course, in these modern times, sadly, the number of households that do their own sweet making is slowly diminishing, with many people opting to go and buy their sweets in the local markets, home-made no doubt, just not by them. Time is scarce these days apparently and like many traditions, this one too is slowly going out of style.

The preparations for the Christmas mass are often unseen and unheard, but come Christmas Eve, you know there was a lot of thought and a lot more practice that went into it. The church is sparkling and clean, the choirs crisp in their notes and pitches and the service itself organized to perfection, especially in these days of growing congregations. There are a growing number of people who volunteer, during Christmas, to go to old age homes and orphanages, singing carols, distributing sweets and just generally giving back to society in many ways. This is a habit of sorts, passed down through families, and in many ways, has become a social responsibility among many in Goa. No Christmas could be complete without such little events. Neither would it be Christmas without the old clubs, places that people could socialize in the old days, decorated in style. Club Harmonia in Margao, Club Nacional in Panjim, during Christmas, look like huge Christmas trees themselves.

On Christmas Day, the mornings and afternoons will see the roads quite deserted, save for the few late shoppers, as families spend the major part of the day opening presents, sharing a few laughs and adding the finishing touches to the Christmas lunch. The Christmas lunch is no small feat, often planned and executed over days and in some cases more than a week in advance. Goan cuisine is a mix of coastal Konkan recipes that over years of Portuguese influence evolved into a melting pot of spice and scrumptious flavours. The pork sorpotel for one, is made a week in advance and stored until the final day so that the meat can fully marinate and soak up every little bit of flavour. There is no specified time for lunch as family members, many of whom have come down from various countries around the world, catch up on life in general. The banter is light, fresh and speckled with laughter. The younger generation, meanwhile, would be a tad busier in planning what Christmas dance they would be going to and who they would be going with.

The Christmas dance is as much of a dance as it is a social forum. In older times, it was the main event for singles to meet and fall in love, now; it’s all that and more. These dances start in the early night and it’s not uncommon for the last band to play their final set in the wee hours as the sun rises over the revellers. Suits and gowns are made to order weeks in advance and most of the night is spent not just dancing but meeting old friends. In Goa, everyone knows everyone else, so these dances are like little house parties, albeit in a much larger and grandiose setting. The few nightclubs that are located on the coastal belt are also places to visit, though to many, it’s like any other night at a disco.

To experience the true nature of Christmas, the religious services, dances and local celebrations are topmost on the list of things to do. Clubs draw the a different set of people, the crowd to whom dressing up in your best suit and dancing the night away to live pop music might not hold too much of an appeal. Most restaurants, on the other hand, would undoubtedly have Christmas dishes on the specials list and there is an air of celebration no matter where you go. No one is a stranger on Christmas. Smile and say “Merry Christmas” to someone on the street and you will be treated with a smile and a greeting in return.

Christmas in Goa is something special indeed. Out of the population of around 1.45 million people, 26 per cent are Catholic, the numbers decreasing over the last few decades, owing to the influx of people from all over the country. But, with 155 churches spread across the state and around five times that number in smaller chapels, the cultural ethos of Goa, which evolved during the 450 years of Portuguese rule, is still ubiquitous.

The holiday season extends past the New Year and so do the celebrations. It doesn’t end at the Christmas dance, in fact, it’s practically the beginning. All around Goa, there are parties, balls and other events to celebrate the holiday season and the onset of a new year. The cold winter breeze accentuates the prevailing spirit of Christmas in the air and adds a cosy and comforting quality to the evenings. Christmas in Goa is more than just a day, it is a celebration of brotherhood and equality – an emotion and an idea of peace steeped in history, which so long ago heralded the beginning of a new era in Christianity.

As traditions go, to anyone familiar with the Catholic religion, these days are by far the best of them all. Christmas is a time when, parties and celebrations aside, the practices and traditions that precede and succeed Christmas Day are all about the family – togetherness, brotherhood, forgiving and forgetting. It’s a day when communities find common ground, a day of peace.

It’s less than an hour to midnight, on December 24… and the rituals begin – don your formal wear, throw on your best looking tie or wrap, whatever the gender, and rush out. The weather is chilly, the cool breeze permeates one’s bones, but to most, it doesn’t matter. The stars in the sky twinkle with renewed vigour, the choir sings solemn carols, extolling the virtues of a newborn babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, born in a manger some 2000 years ago. The walk to the church is equally solemn and joyful at the same time. The church bells peal… It’s midnight… It’s Christmas!