the goan I network
PANAJI
Taking advantage of the weekend holiday, Goans on Sunday broke into song and dance to celebrate a day in advance the popular Sao Joao festival -- feast of St John the Baptist.
With the weather gods obliging, villagers spent the day with a traditional low cost, eco-friendly and village volunteer-driven community celebration which they named ‘Vangodd de Saligao’.
Families and their guests indulged in traditional Goan snacks, sweets, curries and seasonal fruits and danced to the tunes of Konkani music devoid of the commercial
influence.
The Sao Joao feast is normally celebrated on June 24 but owing to the weekend, the celebrations this year began a day early on Sunday itself.
In St Cruz, a commercial Sao Joao bash, complete with top-notch DJ music and professionally managed decor was a roaring success with crowds thronging the venue.
Celebrations in many villages will spill over to Monday, the actual feast day of St John the Baptist.
Sao Joao is a Catholic festival celebrated unusually, with many village folk across rural Goa leaping into water bodies and wells as a form of tribute to St. John the Baptist.
It is organised on June 24 each year but this year, since the preceding day was a weekend holday, celebrations began in many parts early. The fun and frolic is generally preceded by prayer sessions for a good monsoon.
