Goa’s party scene is unarguably the best in India and with Christmas and New Year celebrations, the benchmark only gets higher. Goa’s peak season is laden with such festivities and all those who invest on flight tickets can have a taste of them.
India is a delightful place and also an extremely diverse one. The country’s brilliant charms or even its shortcomings are too in-your-face for you to ignore. While pollution, chaos and clamour could well be the ‘triplet’ the best illustrates most of the major Indian cities, there are some parts of the country that are remarkably serene and would most definitely give any European countryside a run for its money. Goa, in the south-west part of the nation, is definitely the latter.
The smallest Indian province has been a haven for tourists for decades. Goa’s charm lies in its irrefutable westernised ambience and the beautiful parade of beaches. The weather is good in this part of India for most parts of the year, but it is during the peak season, November to March, when the true Goan merrymaking finds an exaggerated identity. Several millions begin to descend upon the shores of this Indian coastal state as the year beings to draw close, bringing great weather and riveting festivals and carnivals.
Christmas Celebrations: Goa is an Indian state with a sizable Christian population and as one would expect, the proportions of celebratory zeal shoot up in this region around Christmas. In terms of traditions, Christmas celebrations in Goa are not very dissimilar than those in other parts of the world. There are Christmas carols, mass prayers in the churches and exchanging of gifts. But with Goa, it is not what they do, rather how they do! The tropical flavour adds spice to the festivities and brings about a totally unique concoction for people to enjoy. What makes the festival even more enjoyable is the fact that it is not just Christians who celebrate Christmas, but the entire Indian community get together to enjoy it, bringing their own little contribution to the fun. Indians board flights to Goa from all parts of the country to enjoy the revelries. Tourists might like to visit the many grand churches and take part in several galas and parties that take place in the state. Beach parties are frequent around Christmas, and all foreign tourists, who are buying air tickets to enjoy a vacation in the great weather, will love the jamborees that light up the coasts.
New Year Revelries: The peak season in Goa has another massive beguiler in the form of New Year’s Eve. The celebrations that mark the advent of a fresh year are almost notoriously good in Goa. Much to the contrast of the rest of India, Goa is a much relaxed and is rather liberal. It is in Goa people truly get to immerse in the festive fervour of the land. Almost every hotel of any consequence organises New Year bashes, tempting people from neighbouring areas to jump on flights or trains and join in. Foreigners would find a hint of European flair at Goa nightclubs but minus the exorbitance! Panaji, the Goan capital, has dozens of such parties, every year, where some of the biggest Bollywood stars can be located. Surely, a lot is guaranteed to tourists who invest on air tickets and board flights to India in December!!
Other Extravaganzas: It is well established that November to March is the peak season in Goa, much like the rest of India. To cater to the huge influx of travellers who disembark flights at Goa airport, the coastal province organises, through private players or governmental ones, a wide range of other events and festivals. Of course, the relevance and the grandeur of such events is subjective to an individual opinion, but the popular perception is genuinely positive and such fests in fact tempt many Indians and foreigners to get hold of tickets for flights to this state. In 2014, Sunburn is set for a comeback. Billed as India’s biggest party, Sunburn 2014 will have the largest stage ever constructed in Asia! To be celebrated on December 27, 28 and 29, Sunburn will have more than 100 national and international artists performing, a great motivation for people to loosen their wallets and spend on flights, tickets, hotels, etc!
This is just the cream of the lot. There are hundreds of parties, concerts, music fests and other sorts of shows that are being scheduled for Goa’s peak season in 2014-2015. It is almost criminal to miss out on these wonderful fiestas after having booked air tickets on flights that are taking off for the Indian cities in the coming months.
