GOA CARNIVAL
The tourists who are looking for an absolute party time in Goa can visit Goa during the Goa carnival, which is in the month of February. The month of February brings along with it an air of festivity that all the Goans as well as the tourists eagerly wait for.
HISTORY OF GOA CARNIVAL
The carnival in Goa, a three-day fest, had its birth during the era of King Momo. He ushered in the Goa carnival just before the Lent season (Lent is the period of fasting and penance in the Christian calendar and corresponding somewhat to the Mohammedan fast before Ramzan Id). The carnival of Goa usually starts off on Sabado Gordo (Fat Saturday) and concludes on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday)-the eve of Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of the season of Lent.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING CARNIVAL
Carnival in Goa is a time for fun and frolic in Goa. Colourful processions and lavish floats parade the streets of Goa. Singing, dancing and masked people mark the uproarious and flamboyant Goan celebration. The unique thing about Goa carnival is that the people of Goa have inculcated different items in the carnival that takes us on a cultural journey of Goa.
Goans begin preparations for this grand carnival from somewhere, say late December or early January. People in Goa rehearse for the plays to be enacted during the carnival. These short plays enacted during the Goan carnival are composed by the Goans themselves and consist of music, songs and dance. The plays performed during the carnival of Goa usually have a touch of history to it.
The cast consisting of men only, performs the roles of women too. Dressed in the most colorful costumes, their headgear surpasses those worn by any primitive tribe in Asia or Africa.
The streets of Goa are crowded for three days and it is nothing but a carnival of colors, a carnival of fun and a carnival of joy for the Goans as well as the tourists who make it a point to plan their Goa visit during that time.
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