Photo Credits: pick of the day sunday
Every corner of Goa transforms into a Baby Jesus’ crib during Christmas. Walk around the cities and the villages which dot Goa’s beautiful countryside and see for yourself, the visual story of Jesus’ birth play out before you. The Nativity scene, which portrays the birth of a baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem, is one of the most recurring motifs of Christmas along with Santa Claus. But while the portly saint has an element of mirth to him, the Nativity scene commands a sense of solemnity.
Depicted in just so many different styles, the essential elements of a Nativity scene has a statue of Christ as a baby, laying in a manger being looked on lovingly by his mother Mary, his father Joseph and surrounded by shepherds and animals in a stable laden with hay. And of course there’s a shining star which leads the path for the three wise kings who arrive with gifts on the occasion of Jesus’ birth.
Over the years, crib-making has evolved from just some humble figurines of piety placed amid tiny bales of hay with clay-shaped fauna around them, to mehcanised and music feats. The aspect of faith and love of the makers of these Nativity scenes towards their God however remains unchanged.
If you want to catch sight of these cribs and make an organic connect towards the festival of Chirstmas, we can perhaps point a finger in the right direction.
# Almost every village/parish collectively puts a crib together with members of the community. Most parishes also have a crib contest in which some of the villages best crib-makers compete
# South Goa has some excellent crib displays especially along the coastal stretch right from Benaulim to Cansaulim. A drive by through this area won’t hurt.
# The villages of Arrossim and Chinchinim in South Goa are known for making a floating crib each year. Sometimes they even depict Santa Claus in these nativity scenes. Yes, miracles do happen.
# The lovely villages of Raia and Loutolim in south Goa boast of some beautiful cribs
# The road from Margao - Colva also has a massive crib display in the fields with life-size cut-outs of Mother Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. This one comes with a waterfall alongside.
# Lourenco Fernandes' open-air mechanised crib set up in Porvorim each year sees a steady stream of visitors who travel to see the unique attraction
# Majorda in South Goa and Candolim in North Goa boast of a walk-through crib, where visitors can literally walk through the Nativity Scene, the palace of Kind Herod, the countryside in Bethlehem and even shake hands with the Three Kings!
