30/06/2024
Incredible! Our culture and way of life are rooted in tradition and incredibly active year-round. The Maltese islands engage spirituality and this is clear particularly during the village festa when faith and devotion are expressed in a material way through an impressive display of street decorations. The size and level of refinement and detail on these decorations is quite remarkable for such a small place and an open-air showcase of local craftsmanship.
DRESS TO IMPRESS
Our towns and villages are flamboyantly dressed up for the festa. This ‘trophy’ display was set up by the Socjeta Filarmonika Banda Prekursur at the corner of St. Catherine Street with Church Street for the Xewkija festa held at the end of June 2024. The trophy is a traditional street decoration usually consisting of a column surmounted by shields displaying symbols related to the cult of the saint on a large banner. The latter comprises a central image surrounded by intricate compositions of geometric motifs. The striking decorations are the work of many skilled volunteers who dedicate countless hours to craft them.
SAINTS AND FESTAS
The curse of fear and terror under which the Maltese lived for so long, coupled with the insecurity of a livelihood fully dependent on the elements and limitations of a small island, has made them sticklers for devotion to their favourite saints. Saints were the last hope in the darkness, and religious images served as protective devices against the cruel vagaries of a harsh existence. (1)
Religious culture in Malta and Gozo remains strong, and devotional fervour erupts in great feasts, which take place in the summer months. These village festas are unparalleled on the continent, so the English words ‘feast’, ‘festival’ or ‘holy day’ do not convey a true meaning of these celebrations. (1)
Every weekend from the last Sunday in May up to mid-September, each town and village organises a festa in honour of the patron saint to whom the parish is dedicated. In these festas, the spiritual and the secular intermingle, and religion and folklore abound. These celebrations have long been an important event and the rivalry between the villages reaches sky-high proportions. (1)
A festa worthy of the name is made up of illuminations, brass bands, fireworks and a procession. The façade of the village church, as well as the principal streets, is decorated with thousands of twinkling lights. From the Wednesday preceding the festa to its eve, several brass bands march through different streets preceded and followed by the young and not so young who revel in dancing and merrymaking. The beginning and end of these marches are marked by a profusion of multi-coloured ground and aerial fireworks. On Sunday afternoon, in some of the towns and larger villages, there is also a traditional horse and donkey race along the main street. The climax of the festa is reached on Sunday evening when a procession with the statue of the saint carried shoulder-high wends its way slowly through the village streets. The villagers, men, women and children, don their best outfits and the houses are appropriately decorated and lit for the occasion. (1)
Festas are colourful celebrations with participants vying for the most splendid show, the best fireworks, and the most spectacular sense of briju (festivity). During the summer holiday months, August in particular, thousands of people from Malta abroad spill through the streets, filling the restaurants and bars, and spending the afternoon sleeping off their excesses on the beaches. This is the only time of year when the traditional old Maltese way of life shakes off its sleepy persona. (1)
© Kappa Vision / Jean-Paul Borg.
References:
- Visit Gozo.
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