Public holidays in Goa

For a tourism intensive state like Goa it has nearly 14 days of holidays every year. Government offices normally work for a five-day-week with Saturdays and Sundays being the weekly off. The towns and cities of Goa close pretty early and 8 pm is often the closing time for almost every establishment in the state . There is also an afternoon siesta break in Goa which is from around 1.30PM till up to 3.30PM. The Goan siesta time is pretty infectious and even migrant traders who set shop in Goa get the bug of the Goan siesta and while they resist closure of their shops in the initial stages of their business in Goa, soon they also fall for the noon leisure trap of the Goan siesta. So all the restaurants, shops, and generally commercial establishments remain shut in this period.

The major holidays in Goa for the public are around Christmas time , Ganesh Chaturthi Festival and Diwali . Other public holidays include Republic day, Id-ul-Zuha, GFudi Padva, Good Friday, Independence day, Gandhi Jayanthi, Dussehra, Diwali, Id-ul-fitr, Feast of St Francis Xavier, Goa Liberation Day, Mahashivratri, Holi and Id-e-milad. Banks may remain open during local religious celebrations. The weekend holidays for the public sector are Saturday and Sunday.

During festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Christmas, it is a special homecoming for naïve Goans. Goa is filled with a lot of Goan people these occasions with family, relatives and friends travelling to Goa to celebrate the festival from abroad or from other parts of India.

During Carnival and during the buildup for Christmas and New year, Goa is besieged with a high tourist inflow. Naturally the hotels and the guest inns are packed to capacity and therefore it is advisable to book your holiday to Goa in advance by making your bookings for trains, buses and flights if you intend to be in Goa during this period. The following is the month wise details of all the holidays that Goa has to offer throughout the year

January
1st- New Year's Day Festivity and lot of fanfare marks the onset of the New Year in Goa. People in Goa have lavish New years day with cheer, dance events and celebrations happening all around. Since there is a good catholic population in Goa, New Year is celebrated with a lot of energy and enthusiasm

26th- Republic Day of India
This day is declared as a National Holiday all over the country and marks a very special day in India's struggle for Independence. Most businesses and public places remain closed on this day as a tribute to the Republic of India.


March
Maha Shiva Ratri This is a Hindu festival which is celebrated all over the country and is The dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. The people of Goa visit temples to give offerings to their God in the form of milk, fruits, etc.

Holi
Holi is the festival of colours and is celebrated all over Goa with pomp and colour. One of the most popular festivals of India, people from all walks of life irrespective of their religion celebrate this festival with lots of fun, cheer and happiness. If you venture out this day in modern Goa, expect to be smeared with colorful powder and even drenched in colored water.

The Festival of Shigmo
Shigmo is a colourful festival of Goa much like Holi. Each year around the month of March, the festival of Shigmo is celebrated in Goa. There are plenty of colourful floats and the streets in Goa come alive with the floats depicitng Goan ways of life etc. Shigmo is celebrated to mark the beginning of Spring.

April
Baisakhi
This festival marks the end of the harvest season and is a Hindu festival which is celebrated in the rest of India and actually not observed much in Goa. However there is a holiday sometimes.


Good Friday
Good Friday is the celebration of the death of Christ who died for the sins of mankind. Good Friday is the day when Jesus was crucified. Catholics in Goa observe this day with a great reverence and attend mass in the afternoon.

May
Eid-ul-Milad
This festival marks the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed for the Muslims and is celebrated all over Goa.

Buddha Purnima
This festival is celebrated to mark the birthday of Buddha amongst the Buddhist clan of Goa.

August 15^th- Independence Day of India
The independence day of India is a great day for every Indian and Goa is no different. The national flag is hoisted in every taluka and district in Goa and Goans show their pride in their belonging of India.

Ganesh Chaturthi
This day is celebrated to mark the birthday of the Hindu elephant God, called Ganesha. It is a major festival in Maharashtra and in some parts of Karnataka and is celebrated with equal enthusiasm and fervour in Goa.

October
2^nd – Gandhi Jayanti
This day is another important National Holiday as it marks the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Itr si also the Birthday of another great Indian freedom fighter Lal Bahadur Shastri. However this day is more dedicated to the great Mahatma.

Dussehra
This is a nine-day long festival celebrated with much fervor and enthusiasm in the north of India among the Hindus and is celebrated with equal festivity in Goa. Peole in Goa buy new some new things on this day and very often vehicles such as cars and commercial vehicles are bought on this day by the Hindus in Goa. You will see plenty of cars and other vehicles moving around ion Goa with a garland of flowers.

Diwali/Deepawali
The festival of lights is famous Indian festival all over the world and is celebrated in Goa with equal fervour. Lights mark the essence of this festival which is celebrated for days


December
3rd December - St Francis Feast

The feast of St Francis Xavier, the patron saint of Goa is celebrated on this day every year. Masses being as early as 5 am and continue till afternoon. It is a day which brings all Goans to the basilica at Old Goa to pay obeisance to the saint whose body is still miraculously preserved in a casket in the Basilica and is opened for veneration at that time of exposition of his relics every ten years which is a huge draw for tourists.

25^th – Christmas/X-Mas
The festival of Christmas in Goa is the most liveliest event of the whole Goan year and is the busiest week in the whole year for the tourism industry in Goa with hotels jam packed to capacity. Christmas carols, Brightly lit stars,Christmas buntings, Santa claus, dance events, and plenty of goodies make this day an unmistakable day for Goans. The celebrations continue till New year.

Goa's Links with Portugal and Europe

How is Goa linked with Portugal and rest of Europe

The consulate of Portugal has its presence in Goa and is located in Panjim city at Altinho where a fully functional consulate regularly caters to visa requirements as also to Goan aspirants for the Portuguese passport. Apart from the Portuguese consulate there are other cultural organizations which are active in Goa, with many Portuguese organizations setting shop here.

In Fontainhas, which is often termed as the Latin quarter of Panjim lies Fundacao Oriente which is a cultural organization and organises interesting programmes, majorly cultural and also sponsors such events thereby adding spice to Goa’s cultural space.

The Fundacao Oriente did face some opposition to set shop in Goa in its formative stages owing to some misconceptions of the colonial past of Portugal and many Freedom fighters had a lot of reservations which slowly dissipated owing to the secular nature of the organization. The Fundacao oriente also encourages Goa related book titles and also endeavours to subsidise such activities. The following are the offices of the different cultural organizations in Goa.

• Fundação Oriente Delegation in India Addres: 175, Filipe Neri Xavier Road Fontainhas Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel : 0832 - 2230728/2436108 Fax : 0832 - 2230291 Email : oriente@sancharnet.in / foriente@dataone.in

• Centro de Língua Portuguesa/Instituto Camões Address: AGVA House 9/32 Dr. Dada Vaidya Road Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel : 6647737 Email : clpicgoa@gmail.com Contact : Dr. Miguel Lume

• Fundação Cidade de Lisboa ADDRESS: Dias Building, 1st floor Rua de Ormuz Panjim Goa Tel : 2223969 Contact Person : Dr. Jorge Renato Fernandes

• Indo Portuguese Friendship Society Address :Santosh Building Near CBI Office Altinho Panjim Goa Tel : 2436875 Contact : Francis Menezes, President / Gopal Vernekar, Secretary

• Dempo Centre for Indo-Portuguese Studies Dempo Trade Centre Patto Plaza Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel : 2437849 / 50 Contact Person : Ms. Isménia da Veiga Coutinho

The following are the offices of various European Consulates or their representations in Goa

1. British Deputy High Commissioner's Consulate
Dempo Tower, EDC complex, Patto -Panjim,
Telephone: 2438897

2. The German Consulate
CMM House,
Rua de Ourem, Panjim
Telephone: 2235526

3. The Consulate General of Portugal
Smt. Parvathi House No. 38 & 39,
Fr. Agnelo Road, Altinho, Panaji,.
Telephone: 2421525, 2424524, 2424526, Fax: 2421522

4. Austrian Consulate
Salgaocar House,
Dr. Luis Gomes Road,
Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa
Telephone: 2513811, 2513816

5. Italian Consulate
B-1 Sesa Ghor,
Patto, Panaji
Telephone: 2438944

So where is Goa? what about Goa?

Goa is the tiniest state located on India’s western coast with a rich history and is a former Portuguese colony replete with natural beauty , beautiful landscapes and stunning beaches which form its basic attraction for the worldwide tourist to flock to this place . Goa is set on an area spanning over 3,700 square kilometers and hosts a population of approximately 15 lakhs( 1.5 million). In its most culturally diverse form, Goa has a very rare and unique blend of ethnic Indian culture mixing with vibrantly western influenced Portuguese culture with both Hindu and catholic populations in the state living harmoniously for centuries . Its beautiful temples and gothic architectures churches have an estimated 3 million visitors each year

What is the capital of Goa
The capital of Goa is at Panaji which is also known as Panjim, Ponnje in Konkani or Paingim in Portuguese. It is one of the most beautiful cities in India which showcases the colonial history of Goa. It has plenty of the typical yellow and blue colored Goan houses which gives you a feeling of being in a street in Portugal or Spain.

Goa’s Tourism History
Goa has been a tourist hub in India. Since the hippies first discovered Goa in the sixties, it ahs only become famous all over the world in good time and has been attracting a steady flow of visitors. In fact following the hippies were visitors from the United kingdom who to this day are the backbone of tourism in Goa. Expat Goans aided the flow and thereafter charter tourists simply took over the reins of exploring Goa to the fullest.

Many of such foreign visitors have also settled Goa as their permanent home while many others visit the state faithfully and take medical treatment etc. the business class have also found this place the most ideal one for seminars and conferences in Goa.

On the Indian map, Goa may seem similar to rest of India. But a closer look will reveal that Goa si visibly and practically different from the rest of India. Its civic sense , easy going nature and peaceful society isolates it from the rest of India as being the most peaceful yet fun loving place in this part of the world.

The traditional Goan village
The entire state of Goa has a lot of countryside view to offer.In fact the saying Goes that Goa’s heart is in its villages. One can distinctly observe that unlike the rest of India and Indian cities, Goans don’t like to live in the cities and would rather prefer the laid back village life. Goans don not mind traveling to the city space from their village environments, daily to work.

It is therefore not surprising that the villages of Goa hold out the Goan charm and character than any other place of Goa. However for the first time visitors, living in relaxed Goa can be pretty tough and slow especially if one was working in Goa for a living. However only the true Goan seems to understand the charm of living in Goa and enjoys his favorite turf without any complaint and is pretty charmed about the Goan village.

The villages of Goa are picture perfect abodes where you can smell the breath of fresh earth and the virgin smell of flowers and fauna. There is a sense of neatness and cleanliness which is almost practiced without saying.

Goa has many different facets to its beauty. While the Goan coastline is always in demand for its alluring beauty, it vastly varies from the "hinterland". Some of the villages in Goa have a rich history and many stories attached to its . You might just want to take a sneak peek into some of the villages which are mentioned below.

The villages in Goa which are worth visiting are Moira, Divar island, Nachinola, Neura, Corlim, Bastora, Reis Magos, Goa Velha and Britona in the north while in the south it could be Assolna, Cansaulim, Velsao, Nuvem, Savoi verem, Usgao, Curtorim, Raia, Carmona, Shiroda, Mollem etc.This is an almost unending list. In these villages it may be difficult to locate accommodation as these places may be visited by tourists but they would not be staying here overnight and would rather prefer the coastal belt villages or the smaller towns and cities.

The People of Goa
The Goan population is a blend of ethnic Hindus and Roman Catholics, who have been living in harmony for centuries. While there are over 60 % Hindus in Goa, Catholics account for over 30 % of the population.

There is also a relatively small Muslim population and some other migrant population in Goa of people who have made this place their home for the last couple of decades. Despite the mix of two very distinct communities in Goa , it has never witnessed serious communal clashes in the past and Goa is therefore regarded as one of the most peaceful and riot free states in India.

The Goan Catholics who often acknowledge their Hindu roots, also carry a distinct caste-system within their social fabric of the catholic world. The Portuguese are known to have converted Hindus into Catholics during the period after the inquisition of Goa in 1510 and the Catholics of modern Goa are originally Hindus with Hindu ancestors which have been traced by many. It is believed that in many cases, the Hindus left one male member behind to convert and thus continue to own and manage the common properties while the rest of the brethren and family chose to retain their Hindu roots and preferred to emigrate to neighboring areas along with the idols representing their Hindu deities.

Over the four and half centuries of Portuguese rule, a large numbers of Catholics have migrated to the major commercial cities of India in Bombay , Pune and also to former Indian city of Karachi which is now in the country of Pakistan. Goans also migrated overseas to former Portugal colonies in East Africa and in countries such as Angola and Mozambique and even to Portugal itself and towards the end of the 20th century many Goans sought greener pastures to Canada and Australia.

Due to the large scale emigration of Goans to other countries many of the old Goan ancestral properties lie either abandoned or mired in legal wrangles and stalemates owing to the sense of disagreement within the widely dispersed inheritors of the property who are unable to come to a common table to mutually solve the issue.

However in recent years, expatriate Goans have been returning to their home state out of nostalgia and a sense of belonging and purchasing holiday homes along the Goan coastline which is further ploughed back into the Goa accommodation sector though the medium of “rent back” apartments which are hired by short term tourists coming to Goa for a holiday.

The best time of the year to visit Goa is mid-November to mid-February when the weather is comfortable, dry and pleasant.