Goa carnival begins March 5 (Lead)
February 11th, 2011 - 8:53 pm ICT by IANSPanaji, Feb 11 (IANS) Goa’s four-day carnival fiesta, which will see thousands taking to the streets to the tune of music, will kick off March 5, Panaji Mayor Carolina Po announced Friday. Po said a committee had been set up to organise the festival.
“Preparations are in full swing. Various cultural programmes are being chalked out. The famous King Momo’s Parade will be held March 5 in Panaji with great pomp and fervour,” Po said.
Carnival processions, symbolic of Goa’s colonial Portuguese legacy, are held every year before the holy season of Lent.
Lent is the 40-day period starting from Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter Sunday, during which many Christians observe fasting, repentance and moderation in an effort at spiritual renewal.
The festival, which involves a public celebration in the form of long continuous parades of gaily coloured floats, with dancers, is led by King Momo or king of the carnival.
King Momo is usually a locally chosen dignitary who is given a key to the city.
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Tags: ash wednesday, carnival, christians, dancers, easter sunday, fiesta, full swing, goa, key to the city, king momo, king of the carnival, lent, moderation, music, parades, pomp, portuguese legacy, public celebration, repentance, spiritual renewal