Celebration of Christ

Outside of the city of Rome, Goa is the main place where the procession of all saints in majorly held. The parade is of great interest to a lot of people and it is attended by people belonging to not only goa but also the neighboring towns and places. This festival is known as one of the most popular festivals of Goa. It starts in the month of March. And it is held in the St. Andrews church which is situated in old goa. Originally these processions were held in Rome.

The people carry statues of 31 holy people on their shoulders and parade along with the entire town. This happens on the fifth Monday of Lent. Throughout the parade, one can sense an air of joy and excitement despite it being a religious procession. Along the procession, the street is filled with stalls or people offering dessert, food or toys. There are a lot of legends surrounding the event, but the true essence of the festival remains on the fact that it was based on the triumph of good over bad or to diminish shrewdness. These fairs are a symbol of the joy and gladness in the life of the people celebrating the festival. The people also conduct various fasts and celebrations in the name of God. During the festival, the entire town comes alive with people reflecting amazing and joyous energy. The people adorn themselves with new clothes and attend the parades, petitions and get indulged in the music as well. This shows that even though it is a religious ceremony, the festival is celebrated with great splendor and excitement.

On this day, the family plans to conduct a procession during dinner time in order to show off or give an impression of grandeur. During the procession, the people also dress up in costumes of saints and attend the dinner.

After everyone has gathered for the procession, every child is made to dress up as their chose saint. Then they each carry a lighted candle and also their baptismal is they can. This is done as a form of reminder to remind each other that we the saints all together have life in Jesus Christ our Lord. We are all one in this mystical body that they are in heaven and we ourselves are on earth that the holy souls are in Purgatory and there is just one church that extends into all of eternity. Generally, it is either a short procession of a long one. If it is a long one, there are various additional things like signing the Litany of the Saints during the procession. But if it a short one it is left for the night prayers. However, this event is not forced onto anyone who is not willing to do it. Some families opt not to do the procession in this way but simply tell their children and family embers the stories of triumph of the Saints which is actually more than enough. Then the procession comes to an end with a special dinner.