Xmas in the land of fenny, fish & fiesta

Well, true. Christmas is around the corner and preparations are in full swing.

Christmas is a happy occasion and a time to be with family and friends. And, Christmas in Goa is no different. So, whichever part of the world one may be trotting around during this time of the year, come December and all routes lead to Goa. The spirit of Christmas brings joy and laughter in every home and the preparations can start as early as end-November. Most houses with a sizeable garden have an evergreen coniferous tree which is decorated and lit up with strings of little lights. Those who have no living tree usually get a branch of a pine tree from a nearby beach whilst those who have someone abroad usually resort to putting up an artificial tree which is dismantled after the season and kept in the loft for the next year. A little crib to depict the scene of the birth of Lord Jesus is also put up in or around every house.

Tasty treats

The preparation of sweets to celebrate the occasion are planned and prepared in the week prior to Christmas, depending on their durability. The traditional Goan range includes kulkuls (little deep-fried twists of sweetened flour), dodol (a cooked mix of Goan rice, coconut milk and jaggery), bebinca (a layered sweet with coconut milk as the main ingredient), doce de grao (a channa dal sweet), newries (a sweetened pastry with a  stuffing of coconut), snow balls or nankhatais and jujups (cubes of gelatin and sugar).

During the days of family togetherness, as the sweets were made in large quantities, the women of the house invariably worked together. Children too were roped in to help twist the kulkuls or press-fold the newries. Sadly, today, most families are nuclear units. Busy schedules as well as changing lifestyles have affected the once family-oriented sweet preparation tradition. Only a few make sweets at home in small quantities while a majority prefer to pick them up from the market. It is the age of consumerism and shopping, after all.

Sumptuous spread

Christmas Day, like any other festive event, means a good spread for lunch. Besides the traditional biriyani, there are a variety of meats from chicken to sorpotel, and salads and desserts, all accompanied with a bottle of good wine.

But the Christmas lunch is, and never has been, the main event of the day. The celebrations always start with a prayerful service at the local church. Christmas is indeed brought in at midnight with a special mass and an extraordinary event as this requires a lot of planning. Choir practices start as early as November. Members of the community prepare special prayers for various parts of the service. This ensures that the people of the community are a part of the service and rejoice in the birth of Christ. And people themselves engage in the Sacrament of Reconciliation a little before Christmas. However, with today's umpteen distractions and commercial exploitations of the event, it is not too difficult to lose the focus of the day.

As a child, I would often hear the words - “I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.” I always related 'white' to snow and wondered when I would get to experience a 'white’ Christmas in Goa. But yes, I can still have a 'white' Christmas, with white signifying purity.

Traditional Christmas was all about going to church, being a part of the activities at church and home, and visiting family and friends to wish them the joy of the season. And yes, this still does happen. But music, it is said, runs in the blood of every Goan and a new event that takes place, which will soon be a part of the ‘tradition’, is the Christmas dance. Goa, in all its splendour has  a few open air dance arenas wher Christmas dances take place. They say one man’s salt is another’s poison. Well, while some feel dances brings  together friends who have come from different parts of the world for Christmas, a few feel that such events spoil the original meaning of Christmas by exploiting it commercially.“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love,” said Hamilton Wright Mabi. While  I’m not sure whether he was speaking of Christmas, the quote sure holds true for the spirit of this season.

Christmas is about giving, sharing and caring. A young lad recollects the days he would go carolling as a child to spread the Christmas cheer. In his own words, “One person from the group would dress up as Santa Claus and give sweets to the children we met. We’d go carolling to all parts of the parish and people would open their doors as soon as they heard us. It used to be fun for all and people would give us money, which we’d collect over the days. The entire amount would then be given to some charitable organisation. Over the past couple of years though, we went carolling only to a few and select homes. Our chapel has a list of sick and aged people who are not able to come to church. So we paid them a special visit, sang a few carols, prayed with them and gave them a small gift. I enjoyed the experience. It was sad though to know that a number of them have children and grandchildren who are abroad and do not return home for Christmas. I was glad we were able to spend some time with them.”

Some years ago, a colleague of mine, Cybena, attended a mass a little before Christmas Day. Along with the offertory basket that went around for that day’s collections, another small basket filled with little ‘chits’ went around too. Each one had to pick a chit, on which an item was mentioned — one kilo rice, two kilos flour, as a Christmas gifts  were then given to a home for destitutes.

Isabel Santa Rita Vas, an educationist and theatre enthusiast in Goa, has always experienced Christmas woven with family life. Having lived in a joint family as a child, the closeness and warmth shared then has remained with her through the years. She has fond memories of decorating the house with her father as a child. And even today, though she’s alone in the house, it does not bring loneliness. When all is said and done, Christmas is no doubt a special event. It encompasses us as a whole and helps us replenish, both spiritually and socially. The cheer of the season is such that one can’t stand aside and watch it go by.

I sign off with the words of Hugh Martin — “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Let your heart be light. Next year all our troubles will be out of sight.”