Goa: holidays and festivals New Year's Day (Jan 1) Dances and religious services at midnight. More people on the road to greet the changed calendar. Fireworks at some beaches.
Three Kings Feast (Jan 6) Major feasts at Chandor, Cansaulim, Reis Magos and also the Candolim feast. See http://www.surfindia.com/festivals/feast-of-three-kings.html Makar Sankaranti (Jan 15) Festival marking the beginning of the harvest season for farmers of the Indian sub-continent. Marks the transition of the sun into Capricorn on its celestal path. Sakranti is Sanskrit for 'transition'. Winter solstice marks the gradual increase in the duration of the day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makar_Sankranti Fatorpa zatra (Jan 17) The temple located just outside Salcete, and attracts both Hindu and Catholic devotees. http://pub5.bravenet.com/forum/388167391/fetch/395057/3 Kankadevi Utsav (Jan 18-19) http://wikimapia.org/1413784/ at Naroa/Narve. Moharram (Jan 19) Is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four months of the year in which fighting is prohibited. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar. Muharram is so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month; the word is derived from the word 'haram' meaning forbidden. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. Some Muslims fast during these days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muharram Rivona Feast (Jan 20) Rivona's Our Lady of the Rosary Church was built in 1940, and lies in Quepem taluka. It has a population of 4000 Catholics. Bodgueshwar Zatra, Mapusa (Jan 21) Lord Bodgeshwar who is considered the guardian of Mapusa city is worshipped not only by the people of Mapusa but the entire Bardez taluka. According to some legends Bodgeshwar has been appointed as the guardian of Mapusa by Goddess Shantadurga who is now at Dhargalim. http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=01212 Devkikrishna Zatra, Marcela (Jan 22) Marcela is a temple town located at the start of Ponda taluka in Goa. It is very famous for temples like DevkiKrishna, Piso Ravalnath, Shano Ravalnath, Bhoomika and others. Temples were shifted here from coastal Goa during times of Portuguese religious intolerance. wikimapia.org/421937/ Republic Day (Jan 26) The Republic Day of India is a national holiday of India to mark the adoption of the Constitution of India and the transition of India from a British Dominion to a republic on January 26, 1950. It is one of the three national holidays in India. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Day_(India) Seraulim, Our Lady of Pilar Feast (Jan 27) This church was built in 1635. Located in Seraulim, Colva, with a population of 3000 Catholics. Feasts of Verna, Grace Church, Margao (Feb 3) Verna's Holy Cross Church was built in 1568, and caters to 8500 Catholics today. Margao's Our Lady of Grace Church was built in 1959, and claims a population of 8000 Catholics. Carnival (Feb 3, 4, 5, 6) Listed as one of the 'festivals of India', this earlier marked celebrations prior to the 40-day once austere festival of Lent. Today, more a tourism-draw sponsored by government and the tourism trade, and played out via floats in urban streets. http://www.festivalsofindia.in/Goa/ Cuncholim and Rachol feasts (Feb 6) Ash Wednesday Cuncolim's Our lady of Health church was built in 1604. Rachol's Our Lady of Snows was built in 1556, and has a rather historic past. Ganesh Jayanti. Aopteshwar Siddhi Vinayak Utsav Sant Inez (Panjim), Ganesh Jayanti Utsav Murgao-Bogda, Vasco (Feb 10) Vasant Panchami. Shantadurga Zatra, Kevlem. Velus-Valpoi Zatra (Feb 11) Rathsaptami (Feb 13) Hanuman Zatra, Mala, Panjim. Mahalsa Mardol Zatra (Feb 16) Mala: http://wikimapia.org/211571/ Mahalsa: At Mardol, I km from Shri Manguesh temple. The deity worshipped is an attribute of Vishnu (Mohini during the fight between Devas and Asuras. http://www.indiatourism.com/goa-temples/mahalsa-temple.html Emperor Shivaji Jayanti. Vishwakarma Jayanti (Feb 19) Manguesh Zatra, Mangueshi. Dev Azoba Zatra, Keri Pernem. Gudo Avadem Zatra. (Feb 20) Shri Mangueshi temple is located at Mangueshim in Priol-Ponda Taluka,1 kilometer from Mardol close to Nagueshi, 22 km from Panaji the capital of Goa and 26 km from Margao. This temple is one of the largest, most enchanting, serene and most frequently visited temples in Goa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangueshi_Temple Guru Pratipada (Feb 22) Mandur-Dongrim Shigmotsav (Feb 22) http://osdir.com/ml/culture.region.india.goa.research/2005-06/msg00002.html Mardol Zatra (Feb 25 to Mar 1) Shri Mahalasa's main temple, of course, is in Mardol, Goa. Over the years, others have been built too. http://www.mahalasa.org/ Mahalaxmi Utsav, Amona (Feb 26) http://wikimapia.org/country/India/Goa/Navelim/100/ -- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org Ph +91-832-2409490 The Goa books blog: http://goabooks.wordpress.com Goa1556 (alt.publishing.goa): http://goa1556.goa-india.org