{"id":581,"date":"2019-10-16T08:04:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T08:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/?p=581"},"modified":"2019-10-16T08:04:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T08:04:57","slug":"christmas-in-india-carols-sun-and-vindaloo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/christmas-in-india-carols-sun-and-vindaloo\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas in India: Carols, Sun and Vindaloo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contemplating spending Christmas in\u00a0India<\/a>? With a hot and tropical climate during December, India\u2019s premier beaches, a famous party culture, and a Christian population that celebrates the Christmas season with feasting and festivities,\u00a0Goa\u00a0should be high on your list of winter travel destinations. Here\u2019s our guide to spending the festive December period in Goa.<\/p>\n

\"india\"<\/p>\n

Why Christmas in Goa?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

India\u2019s smallest state draws big crowds during the Christmas-New Year period, who come for\u00a0Goa’s unique take on the holidays, comprising a mix of\u00a0balmy beach-going temperatures\u00a0with traditional yuletide festivities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Almost a third of all Goans identify themselves as Catholics, a legacy of more than four centuries of Portuguese rule, and Christianity is highly visible across the region \u2013 the extraordinary 17th-century churches and cathedrals at\u00a0Old Goa\u00a0are the largest in Asia and every town and village has its own whitewashed parish church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Christmas celebrations begin in earnest around mid-December with carol singing, concerts, street decorations, illuminated village nativity scenes and Christmas markets. Groups of carol singers, often accompanied by a costumed Santa, roam about raising funds for the community, while colourful five-pointed stars made from paper stretched over a wooden frame are hung outside homes and businesses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

On Christmas Eve many Goan families gather for a traditional feast before attending Midnight Mass at their local church, while Christmas Day<\/a> is reserved for family and the exchange of gifts at home. In the lead-up to New Year\u2019s Eve, local children get together and make an effigy of an old man which is then torched on a bonfire at midnight, symbolising the end of the old year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"India\"<\/div>\n
\n

What about the food?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

As elsewhere in the world, Christmas in Goa is a time for eating. During the Christmas holidays, you\u2019ll find something for every festive appetite: from conventional roast turkey to sweet, Portuguese-influenced treats such as\u00a0bebinca<\/em>\u00a0(a layer cake made from eggs, flour, coconut milk and butter) to Goa’s special Christmas\u00a0dodol<\/em>\u00a0(a festive, toffee-like sweet), as well as all manner of curry (vindaloo originates from here!) and international staples.<\/p>\n

Palm-thatched beach shack restaurants line most beaches, serving fresh-from-the-nets seafood, Goan delicacies and sunset cocktails right through the Christmas season, and many tourist-oriented restaurants and hotels also lay on a traditional English, European or Russian Christmas dinner on Christmas Day.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"goa\"<\/p>\n

Do Goan churches open for Midnight Mass?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

Perhaps the quintessential Goa Christmas experience is attending Midnight Mass, but churches are crammed with locals and it pays to arrive early if you want a seat or even standing room inside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The celebrations are effusive and visitors are welcomed with open arms but mass often goes on till the early hours, hence the local name Missa de Galo (Cock Crow). Bear in mind that this is a religious celebration so you should dress appropriately in church: ie no beachwear, and shoulders and legs should be covered.<\/p>\n

It’s not all about the Christmas celebrations<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

The Christmas festivities are just one reason to plan a December trip to Goa. This time of year is perfect for lazing on the beaches and dipping into the Arabian Sea, with minimal rainfall and temperatures that climb above 30\u00b0C.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

When you decide to drag yourself away from the sun loungers, you can always head to a market for a spot of Christmas shopping. Anjuna\u2019s hippie-turned-hyper Wednesday\u00a0flea market\u00a0is Goa\u2019s most famous shopping trip, but there are also fun Saturday night markets at Baga and Arpora and cool Christmas markets in Panaji and Margao.<\/p>\n

\"goa\"<\/p>\n

You can continue the spiritual theme back on the beach with a yoga or meditation class on the sand. Goa is a great place to stretch those limbs and align those chakras and you’ll find everything from drop-in classes to long-term yoga retreats. The best places to get involved are\u00a0Arambol,\u00a0Mandrem, Assagao and\u00a0Palolem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contemplating spending Christmas in\u00a0India? With a hot and tropical climate during December, India\u2019s premier beaches, a famous party culture, and a Christian population that celebrates the Christmas season with feasting and festivities,\u00a0Goa\u00a0should be high on your list of winter travel destinations. Here\u2019s our guide to spending the festive December period in Goa. Why Christmas in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[122,121,108],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-asia","tag-christmas-in-india","tag-goa","tag-india"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas in India: Carols, Sun and Vindaloo - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With India\u2019s premier beaches, a famous party culture, and a Christian population,\u00a0Goa\u00a0should be high on your list of winter travel destinations\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/christmas-in-india-carols-sun-and-vindaloo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas in India: Carols, Sun and Vindaloo - 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