Some of the world’s best educators are grandparents – Dr. Charlie W. Shedd

Do you remember the days spent in the loving company of your grandparents? Memories of summer holidays in my childhood are abundant with times spent listening to stories told by my grandmother while we ate our simple yet delicious lunch or dinner. Times spent playing in the gardens and backyards filled with banana, mango, chickoo, guava and so many other fruit trees; trees planted by my grandfather, lovingly spreading their branches wide like open arms.  

The warmth, wisdom and generosity of our grandparents – be it wise and comforting words when we were sad, or the delicious food they prepared, or the legacy of love in every tree they selflessly grew, knowing that we would enjoy the fruits of their hard work. The songs they listened to on the radio during sleepy afternoons or the prayers they said when it was thundering or lightening too much. All these are memories that are more important than any vitamins a child can have while growing up.

This is possibly why, Pope Francis established a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. It will be celebrated for the fourth time on Sunday, 28th July 2024 – the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is:

“Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf. Psalm 71:9)

This is important to remember, as we really don’t know how lucky we are to experience the love of our grandparents.

While this feast is celebrated in the dedicated churches in Goa, there’s a unique tradition associated with St. Anne known as the Touxeanchem Fest or Cucumber Festival at St. Anne Church, Santana-Telaulim, North Goa.

Newly wedded couples go there, offer a cucumber at the feet of St. Anne and petition:

Portuguese: ‘Senhora, tomai pepino, dai me menino’; Konkani: ‘Saibinni, hem tovxem ghe ani mhaka ek ballok di’ (Our Lady, take this cucumber and give me a child.)

Similarly, bachelors and spinsters, too, go there. Bachelors take a long spoon and petition:

Portuguese: ‘Senhora, tomai colher, dai me mulher’; Konkani: ‘Saibinni, hem kuler ghe ani mhaka bail di’ (Our Lady, take this spoon and give me a wife.) And, spinsters take some lentils and beseech the saint:

Portuguese: ‘Senhora, tomai urido, dai me marido’; Konkani: ‘Saibinni, hi uddid-dal ghe ani mhaka ghov di.” (Our Lady, take this uddid-dal and give me a husband.)

So, what can you do this year to celebrate the legacy of your grandparents? If you are so lucky that they are with you, do not miss spending the day in their excellent company. If not, just cherish their beautiful memories as you remember them in your prayers. Here are some more things you could do –

• Plant a tree, maybe a variety they loved. There can never be too many trees!
• Send or give a grandparent or elderly person a “Spiritual Bouquet” – A Spiritual Bouquet can be a card, homemade or store-bought letting a person know that you are thinking of them and that they are in your prayers. You could offer a mass, or dedicate a decade of the rosary to them.
• Have a meal together if you don’t already live together, something special to celebrate this day.

At the end, it’s the thought that matters. Wish you a Happy Grandparents Day!

– Louella Dias