The Goan festivals are integrated with the state’s culture and heritage. Among the festivals of Goa, some are steeped in religious undertones and others are expressions of the fun-loving nature of the people. Most of the Goans are Hindus, so they celebrate their traditional festivals. In it Ganesh Chaturthis is the most important festival of the state. The festival is related to the birthday of Lord Ganesh. It is marked by religious observations and rituals. The Christian community has also their own festival in Goa. On this the feast of St. Francis Xavier is the most auspicious one and devotees from all over the world come to Goa to pay homage to St.Francis Xavier, Goa’s patron saint.

The Goan carnival is known the world over for its fascinating parades and colourful celebrations. The carnival in Goa is essentially a spring festival celebrated with joy and revelry on the beautiful beaches of Goa. In the carnival days and nights the erstwhile Portuguese settlement of Goa sings, dances and makes merry.

Shigmo is the other festival universally celebrated in Goa, but especially in Panaji, Mapusa, Vasc Da Gama and Margoa. It is a spring festival celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Phalgun in March. Shigmo is a grand five day festival of colour, celebrated distinctively in the villages. Parade of the horse riders is the other part of the Shigmo festival, known in the name of Ghodemodni. Hypnotic and rhythmic music of drums and whistles accompany the martial dance, which parades down the main street, imitating horses and their riders. Second and third day of Shigmo Rombat takes place. Rombat is a procession of men in traditional dress carrying banners and umbrellas dancing to the music of drums. Young boys wave green twigs, signifying the arrival of spring. Most of the villages stage drama festival in the week of Shigmo.