Churches and Convents of Goa

  

Goa has some world famous churches and convents and the most comprehensive group of churches and cathedrals built during 16th and 17th century AD at Old Goa and are a legacy of the Portuguese. The famous churches of old Goa comprises of Se' Cathedral, Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, Chapel of St. Catherine, Basilica of Bom Jesus, Church of Lady of Rosary, the Church of St Augustine and the Church of St. Cajetan. These monuments were influential in spreading forms of Manueline, Mannerist and Baroque art in all the countries of Asia where missions were established.

The churches display a combination of the Renaissance and Baroque styles. They are generally built of laterite and lime plaster. The paintings in the churches were done on wooden borders and fixed between panels having floral designs as in the chapels housing the tomb of St. Xavier, the arches above the altars in the transept of the Se' Cathedral and in the nave on either side of the main altar in the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Excepting a few which are in stone, the statues are mostly in wood delicately carved and painted to adorn the altars. They depict mostly the saints, Mother Mary and Jesus on the cross.


The Basilica of Bom Jesus:The name Bom Jesus basically means "good Jesus" or "infant Jesus". The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Basilica of Bom Jesu is located in Goa. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule, about 10km from the city of Panjim. Close to the convent of St Francis, the 1605 church of Bom Jesus is known principally for the tomb and the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier, a member of the Society of Jesus, who came to India with the Portuguese to spread Christianity in India.

Se Cathedral: One of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa, the Se cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia and it took eighty years to get completed. It is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria and is located in Old Goa. This monument truly represents the royalty of Goa in the early days, during the rule of Portuguese. One of the most sacred buildings for the Christians, Se cathedral has been declared a heritage site by UNESCO.

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Christian Influence on Indian Cuisine

 

Christian Influence on Indian Cuisine has been marked since the days of the colonial rule in India. The food that has emerged as a result of the impact of Christian influence on Indian cuisine is referred to as ‘Anglo-Indian Food’. Indian cuisine is ancient, diverse and is an amalgamation of different religious influences. The two major factors which have influenced and significantly impacted the growth of different kinds of cooking styles and food habits in India are religion and climate. The idea of cooking and the food habit changed a lot with the coming of the Christian missionaries. This was further influenced by the European settlers who came to trade with and colonise the country in the 19th century.

Impact of Foreign Traders on Indian Cuisine
In the 19th century, English and Portuguese traders came to India, and the advent of European traders permanently changed many aspects of eating habit in the Indian subcontinent. For the Europeans, who came in search of Eastern spices, brought with them the vegetables they had discovered in the New World. The Portuguese introduced new crops like tobacco, potato, cashew, papaya, guava and a host of vegetables. Portuguese influences were found on West Indian cooking in Goa, and French influences on South Indian cooking in Puducherry.

Impact of Christian influence on Indian Cuisine
Christian Influence on Indian Cuisine introduced the native Indians to various cooking techniques. The Indian food now incorporated many local ingredients and cooking techniques with European influences. Indian food reflected European customs and traditions and items such as different flavoured cake or sandwiches reflected the authentic eating habit of the Christians.

The Indian food habits now tended to incorporate various new kinds of tastes and delicacies. The British introduced many new food items to the Indian diet such as soups and salads. The Syrian Arab Christians fled to India and took refuge under the king of Kerala. They too left a rather heavy influence in the field of Indian cuisine. Syrian Christian dishes are richly flavoured.

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Indian Religious Festivals

  

India is famous for celebrating several religious festivals of all religions including Diwali, Holi, Durga Puja, Navaratri, Raksha Bandhan, Eid, Christmas etc. Among them, Diwali is the most popular and celebrated festival of the country. Apart from these, there are several other festivals of all religions. Different festivals are celebrated in different times. Some of the festivals have been discussed in brief below.

Diwali
Diwali, Indian Festival of lights, is one of the grandest festivals celebrated across the nation. It is celebrated between the months of October and November with great enthusiasm and zeal. During this Hindu festival, people light up the entire house with earthenware lamps or ‘Diya’ and decorate the floor with ‘Rangoli’. They distribute sweets and gifts to their friends, families and neighbours. In some areas, fairs are also held during Diwali. In West Bengal, Diwali is celebrated as Kali Puja, where they worship goddess Kali and burn crackers. According to the Hindu calendar, it is celebrated in the last day of Ashvina and at the beginning of Kartika, which is exactly 20 days after Dussehra.

Durga Puja
Durga Puja is the most prominent and prime festival of West Bengal, which is celebrated between the months of September and November. The celebration is held for five days- 'Shashthi', 'Saptami', 'Ashtami', 'Navami' and 'Dashami'. Earlier, Durga Puja was only held in ‘Rajbaris’ (the palaces of royal families). Now it is also arranged by different clubs and associations. In this entire celebration along with Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva, Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya are also worshipped. It is imagined that they all come to visit the earth at this time.

Holi
Holi is celebrated across the corners of India and is one of the major festivals of India and also the most vibrant of all. It is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalguna between the months of February and March. The name ‘Holi’ comes from ‘Holika’, who was the sister of demon King Hiranyakashyap. Holi is celebrated with colours and sweets. Different states have different conceptions of celebrating Holi.

Christmas
Christmas celebrates the Nativity of Jesus Christ, founder of Christianity. The word Christmas comes from the words "Cristes Maesse", or "Christ's Mass." Historians claim that the first celebration of Christmas took place in Rome in 336 A.D. It was an important festival during British period all over India. After India achieved Independence from the British rule, this festival lost much of its official importance. The tradition of celebrating it as left behind by the British, continues even to this day. Indians celebrate the festival by Christmas trees and Santa Claus decorations along with lights and gifts and by giving a visit to the churches.

Eid Ul Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr occurs at the end of Ramzan, the ninth month of the Muslim year, on the first day of the new moon in Shawwal. Eid Ul-Fitr means the 'festival of breaking the fast'. 'Fitr' is derived from the word 'fatar' meaning 'breaking'. Another allegation suggests that it is derived from fitrah or 'alms'. A 30-day fast in the month of Ramzan is broken on Eid Ul-Fitr. It is broken with special prayers and festivities with sumptuous feasts. People embrace each other three times, as is laid down in the Quran (The Holy Book of Muslims).

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Christmas, Indian Christian Festival

"WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS" and Your family

For you all to know, what is christmas & why it is celebrated we are sharing blog read it..,

Christmas celebrates the Nativity of Jesus Christ, founder of Christianity. The word Christmas comes from the words "Cristes Maesse", or "Christ's Mass." Historians claim that the first celebration of Christmas took place in Rome in 336 A.D. It was an important festival during British period all over India. After India achieved Independence from the British rule, this festival lost much of its official importance. The tradition of celebrating it as left behind by the British, continues even to this day.

Christmas Celebrations in India
Dances, carols, Christmas trees, arrival of Santa Claus, midnight mass form the main celebrations of Christmas. Night is enlivened by carols, dances and the midnight mass, and preparation of dishes for the Christmas feast. The day is spent in visiting friends and relatives, and in feasting. These are generally the customs introduced by Europeans and followed by Christians, practically all over India.

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