HINDU FESTIVALS IN GOA

With the majority of the population being Hindu, scores of festivals are celebrated in Goa all around the year. Despite the long period of Portuguese colonisation, the Hindu festivals have retained their unique Goan character and are celebrated with deep fervour all around the state. All these festivals do not occur on fixed dates of the calendar year, since they are actually based on the Hindu calendar.

In Hindu mythology, Goa is called the land of the Gods and with good reason. There are hundreds of Gods and Goddesses with differing names, tastes, rituals and traditions worshipped around Goa. Most of these have remained unchanged over the centuries while others have adapted to the changing times and circumstances.

Quite a lot of the Goan festivals are actually Jatras (Feast) of the local or family deity celebrated at the Devasthan (temple) of the God or Goddess. It is a festive and colorful occasion in the temple complex with thousands of devotees taking part in the celebrations and the palakhi (palanquin) procession.

This worship and participation in the festival of the deity forms an integral part of the Goan Hindu culture. Interestingly a number of these Jatras, are attended in large numbers by members of the Christian community to seek the blessing of the deity. This unique example of communal harmony is best seen at the Fatorpa temple of Goddess Shantadurga.

Other festivals like Dussehra, Diwali and Holi are the same as those celebrated around India but with the characteristic Goan flavour. The Goan Hindu community mainly celebrates Ganesh Chathurti, Gudi Padwa, Diwali, Dassra (Dussehra), Holi, Rakshabandhan, Ramnavmi and Krishnajanmashtami.

Chovoth (Ganesh Chaturthi), undoubtedly, is the ‘numero uno’ festival of Goa. Celebrated around August or September, it sees the return of most Goans to their native place of birth or their ancestral houses to join the entire family for the occasion. Most towns and cities in Goa wear a deserted look as Goans return to their native places in the hinterland.

Diwali, the festival of lights is celebrated all over India. Its roots go back to the time when Lord Ram killed the demon king Ravan. Ram was welcomed in his hometown Ayodhya by a celebration of crackers and lights. In northern India, the festival ends when an effigy of Ravan is burnt with an arrow of Ram.

But the same occasion is celebrated a day before Diwali in Goa – and not on the last day of Dussehra – with the burning of the effigies of Narkasur as the demon King Ravan is called locally. All around Goa, huge effigies of Narkasur - dressed in colourful paper clothes and armed with swords and other armaments - are erected in the days preceding Diwali. They are then burnt just before sunrise.

See Also Hindu Festivals Celebrated in Goa:

| Chovoth | Diwali | Gokulashtami | Holi | Lairai Jatra | Nagpanchami |
| Gudi Padwa | Raksha Bandhan | Ram Navmi | Vasco Saptah |