Intruz

Dongorim etymologically means village situated on a hillock. Dongorim, a hamlet of the village of Mandur, situated 11km from Bambolim in Tiswadi taluka, celebrates Intruz from February 10 to February 16. The festival includes folk dances, recitation of folk songs to the beats of folk musical instruments by communities associated with agriculture, fishing and several other activities.
Intruz, a Christian version of Shigmo is celebrated mostly by the Christian gawdas, three days prior to the Lenten season. The Christian communities living in Tiswadi, Bardez, and Salcete who were originally converted from Hinduism during the Portuguese rule, found it difficult to break their links with the Shigmo festival and they began the tradition of singing and dancing on the beats of percussion instruments like the ghumat, dhol, taso etc.
Dongorim, a pre-dominantly Hindu hamlet that worships the deity, Shasti Shantadurga, is the only village that has Hindus celebrating Intruz. During the Portuguese rule, they were prohibited from celebrating traditional fairs and festivals. They would then obtain permission from the government to celebrate Intruz.
During the 11th month of the Hindu calendar Magh on the third Friday at the stroke of midnight, villagers begin the procession of fatyasuvari, where some of them cover their bodies with woollen carpets with music playing in the background.
On the second day, a well-decorated umbrella with crossandra flowers is taken from house-to-house in a procession, which is welcomed by every family by invoking Ravalnath, Satimaya, Sakhalyo, Golibaba. This procession continues on the third day. On the fourth day, the deity is put in to a lalakhi and is carried by devotees on their shoulders. The fifth day attracts a large crowd of devotes to Dongorim. The troupes of folk artistes with varied percussion instruments visit every house.
Relatives and friends who attend the festival are welcomed with a special dish made from local vermicelli called shirvalyo and coconut juice.
The Intruz festival in Dongorim concludes on a Wednesday every year, with the villagers sprinkling colours on each other by dancing to the tunes of percussion instruments by forgetting their caste and tribal differences. Intruz is a replica of the Shigmo festival, which has provided a forum for many generations in Dongorim to exhibit their talent and skill in folklore.

CHRISTMAS

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle all the way. Christmas is celebrated all over the world on 25th December.Its the birth day of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was not born in a palace or wealthy household. He was born in a manger.

Christmas is celebrated in great way. Every household get their homes ready to welcome baby Jesus.

You can see people decorating the Christmas tree and making cribs. People getting ready the sweets for Christmas namely Neureos, Bibinca, Dodol, dose etc.

Children go around singing carols and waiting for Christmas father to get them gifts. Live cribs with carol singing make rounds in villages. People from all religious communities in Goa take part in the festivities of Christmas. Programs are held at the different parishes in Goa during the Christmas week. The mid night Christmas mass draws huge crowds which includes goan, people from India, as well as many foreign tourists. After the mass there are cultural events and social gatherings with each person wishing every person they meet a "Merry Christmas"

The Crib should be a cherished part of the Christmas celebration in every family. It is not only completely religious in significance but also presents to the children in a beautiful way the central event which we commemorate on this great feast. Thus it assumes the character of a religious shrine in the houses of the faithful during Christmas season. Dignified decoration might enhance its attraction and solemnity.

In Goa and around the world Christmas was celebrated with lots of fun and joy

Feast of the THREE KINGS

Feast of the three kings or the Epiphany is one of the most popular festivals in Goa. It is celebrated on January 6 every year in the village of Cansaulim and Chandor in South Goa and the village in Verem in North Goa. Christians as well as non Christians celebrate this festival with great fervour. The feast is held at the Our Lady of Remedies chapel or chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios located at Cuelim.

To declare the start of the festivity, trumpets and the kettledrums are played early morning. The otherwise sleepy villages buzz with activity and come to life. The celebration continues for nine days with a lot of dancing and music. On these nine days of celebration, people visit the Our Lady of Remedies chapel located on top of a hill in Qualim, Salcete. Although an excellent road has been arranged, people still prefer walking up the steep hill to attend the Mass held in this chapel and to recite the Rosary. The beautiful statue of Mother Mary is decorated with jewellery by Hindus and Christians alike on the day of the feast. Many offerings are made to thank Mother Mary for fulfilling their wishes. During these nine days, the chapel resonates with songs by church choir.

On the last day, i.e. on the day of the Feast of the Magi on January 6, three boys from Arossim, Cansaulim and Cuelim are selected to dress up as Three Kings. These kids carry gifts—frankincense, myrrh and gold—for the infant Jesus, just like the Kings. The boys travel towards the chapel on horseback and with a band.  Dressed as Kings, the boys reach the chapel to offer their gifts. The procession is led by little children playing kettledrum and trumpet. The three kids dressed as Kings and the whole procession celebrates the three Kings’ journey to see baby Jesus.

The feast is followed by a fair. An extensive fair is held near the chapel. Complete with fun rides and makeshift shops selling everything from clothes to toys to trinkets, the fair is a must visit. One of the most peculiar things about the Feast of the three kings is that as soon as the festivities are over the buntings and flags are removed and the crowd goes home immediately. By midday, you will not find anyone around the chapel.It remains closed until the next feast as no priest reside in it.  The reason behind this is that the place is believed to be haunted by Maratha King Shivaji and his troops.

Sao Joao

The Sao Joao Festival is most pompously celebrated in Goa amongst the Catholic community and is dedicated to St. John the Baptist which is celebrated on 24th June every year. This occasion marks the celebration by the local youth in the villages of Goa who normally get drunk and jump into wells according to the existing tradition of Sao Joao festival.

They consume plenty of fruits on this occasion and are virtually unstoppable when they indulge in revelry. Specially in Salcete taluka, different types of folk dances or Mandos are held which are popularly known as Sangodds. Fruits and other eatables are exchanged between friends and relatives.

It is an existing tradition wherein anyone who owns a well and has a girl who is newly married exchanges pleasantries and food items to their in-laws as is the custom in every Goan village.

It is a real treat to watch the local youth with crowns of leaves and varied fruits on their heads going out in processions carrying Goan liquor along with them and jumping into wells to have fun. Later, they enjoy a lavish feast of meat and seafood marking the end of the festival. The rainy season is a perfect foil for the Sao Joao festival as most of the people enjoy it more when its raining heavily.

LAIRAI JATRA

This is one of the more famous and more unusual Jatra (Hindu temple festival) celebrated in Goa Shirgao is a small town in Bicholim taluka, east of Mapusa. The Shirgao Jatra is famous among devotees and tourists alike for the celebrated walk on hot coals raked frombonfire.Lairaee Jatra

The Jatra takes place in early part of May, when thousands of devotees of Devi Lairai descend on the small town and religious rituals and poojas dedicated to the Goddess are performed throughout the auspicious day.

Hundreds of people from the villages in surrounding areas, also take part in these celebrations.The festivals is celebrated by the tribal communities living in the area although the devotees come from all over.

The festival begins early in the morning and continues throughout the day. Men and a few women who participate, take a ritual bath in special water tanks located near the Temple. The devotees then walk all the way uphill to the temple as an act of penance, endurance, and worship of the Goddess.

Most of the devotees wear a peculiar type of dhoti (Hindu traditional dress) especially for the festival, a white t-shirt, a colorful cape around the shoulders, and a scarf-like cloth around the waist. Special flower garlands made from jasmine and other local flowers are worn by the devotees around their necks.

A special stick, about 6 feet long, made from twisted vines is carried by the worshippers throughout the rituals of the day. The sticks are made by the devotees themselves and decorated with coloured yarn which symbolises the flowers used in festivals of previous years.

Late into the night, as midnight approaches, the devotees perform a frantic dance inside the temple which is all lit up for the occasion. The dancing takes place to the rhythm of drum beats, in a tight circle in front of Goddess Lairai. While chanting and moving in a tight circle the devotees hold the special sticks clashing them against one another.

The dance sessions end around midnight when all eyes are on the huge pile of wood kept in a large clearing near the temple. The final and most spectacular part of the Jatra then begins, when a specially chosen person races from the temple to the wooden pile and lights a massive bonfire with a blazing torch.

The chanting and dancing then continues around the massive bonfire with the devotees touching the holy fire with their sticks. The devotees believe that the closer one comes to the fire, the more devotion and courage is demonstrated.

In the early hours of the morning when the fire has slow down, the raking of the coals begins. The devotees await their turn to walk on the holy path of hot coals. Around 4 a.m., the actual ritual starts, with the devotees running through the hot coals carrying their sticks and shouting the name of Devi Lairai.

Those who have finished their run, then remove and throw their flower garlands onto a nearby Banyan tree and return home. The Jatra reaches its conclusion as the sun rises in the distant hills.

Bonderam

The "Bonderam" festival is celebrated on the Island of Divar on the fourth Saturday of August every year. The word "Bomderam" originated from the involvement of flags. "Bandeira" is the Portuguese word for the Flag. It is stated that during the Portuguese rule in Goa there were frequent disputes between two sections of the Divar village, namely Sao Mathias and Piedade over property issues. These often led to violence and fights in the village. To find a solution to this problem, the Portuguese introduced a system of demarcation of boundaries with flags.

The rival groups used to knock down the flags with stones. In memory of the during the Bonderam festival people used to use the “fotash”, an instrument made of bamboo, and berries/peper corns were used as missiles in a mock fight between rival groups and also those participating in the festival. However, today this practice is stopped as it used to result in eye injuries etc. The festival is a memoir to the protest by the local villagers against the Portuguese while trying to resolve the property ownership disputes.

The island of Divar comes to life on the day of the Bomderam festival. Divar being situated at a distance of 12 kilometers from Panjim is away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The Bonderam festival starts with a flag parade from the main Divar junction which is accompanied by the brass band and then the declaration of the "Bonderam" festival open. Later there is a fancy dress competition which is followed by the traditional float parade. Divar village has six wards and each ward of the village has a float at the parade. This is followed by a live band performance by the famous music bands of Goa. This is a very popular monsoon festival in Goa and it draws huge crowds from all parts of Goa and world over. Viva Bonderam.

Shigmotsav

The Shigmo Festival in Goa is a colour festival celebrated in the month of Falgun as per Saka Calendar. During this festival period famous temple Yatras are held. Processions are carried out at temples by throwing gulal and dancing with god and goddess umbrellas and Dindis. This festival celebration is organized in different cities to attract tourists. Processions are carried out in cities with traditional goan dances and modern floats. People are honored for best performance in the procession and best float decorators. 

Being celebrated in the villages, the "Shigmotsav" or Shigmo festival, a grand five-day festival of colours, is also considered as the spring festival of Goa. Its celebrations begin with the Holi, the festival of colours celebrated across the country on Thursday. The festival commemorates the homecoming of the warriors who had left their homes and families at the end of Dussera to fight the invaders. 

During Shigmo festival ripening of the winter crop is also included as a reason for the festivities. By the time it was dusk, artists displayed the martial dances like 'Ghode-morni' or the horse dance. Floats depicting the themes from ancient Hindu scriptures came to delight the crowd. Meanwhile, the visitors were enthralled at the grand celebrations. "It's really good to watch people enjoying and having a great time and fun," said Sarah, a tourist from England. One of the features of the ceremonies was a cavalcade, which was carried out into the streets of Ponda in Goa. 

And the people participated in it while performing the 'Rommatamel' and 'Fugdi' dances. Shigmo festival is celebrated by villages after farming. Now, we have introduced some new features that include some competitions.