Goa Carnival Festival

Goa Carnival
When: February, before Easter
Where: Entire Goa
Duration: Three Days
Highlights: Street plays, songs, dances, parades, feasting and merry making

One of the most colorful and popular festival of Goa is the Goa Carnival. This three day extravaganza, of fun, frolic, amusement and merry-making, takes place in the month of February. The Goa Carnival festival is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. Though essentially a Christian festival, all people of Goa, irrespective of their faith and religion take part in this festival. The word Carnival has been derived from the Latin word "Carnavale" which means to throw away meat. The main highlight of Goan carnival is to have fun by indulging in singing, dancing, feasting, etc. before the 40 day abstinence period of Lent before Easter.

The history of the Goan carnival goes back to almost 500 years. It was essentially introduced in Goa by the Portuguese. The trend of celebrating the Carnival with hedonistic pleasures dates back to ancient Rome and Greece. It came to be known to the Portuguese and Spanish people with time and when the Portuguese established their colony in Goa, they introduced the concept there. Since then, the carnival is regular feature every year and a time when people all over Goa take part in it with pleasure.

Just before Easter Sunday, all Goans celebrate the carnival as a feasting and merry making time. The carnival is absolutely colorful and lively and the whole of Goa comes alive with this festival. The entire state is decorated with streamers and colorful ribbons and papers. Throughout the state, many fun parades are organized and people belonging to different communities and areas prepare their tableaus with different representations and themes.

On the opening day of the carnival, King Momo presides over the festival and "orders" his subjects to party and indulge in merry making. The mornings are dominated with singing, feasting and organizing street plays while the evenings are usually full of dancing, balls, etc. on the wide open streets. With the increase in the number of tourists to Goa, the carnival is gaining more and more popularity and is visited by a number of tourists. In a nutshell, Goa Carnival is festival that is dominated by enjoyment and merry making where people come together and spread cheer and happiness.