Festa Day
by Daniel Bartolo

Food and drinks are easily found on this day as the area around the church is infested with mobile kiosks selling ice-creams, hot-dogs, burgers, kebabs, chips, and all sort of fast food. One must also mention the delicious "mqaret" (pastry stuffed with a concoction of dates fried in oil). Nougat, "qubbajt", is the white nougat with almonds or peanuts and the other one is the brown one, usually it's very hard to crack down with one's teeth!
Bands make up the necessary ingredient in order to give the merrymaking outlook to the usual quiet and calm villages. The most popular band march occurs on the morning of the feast day. Fireworks carry the festive mood sky high as they illuminate the big, dark background! Tourists being here for the first time may think that a war is going on as the blustering sound simply goes on and on. It's no surprise that fireworks factories are flourishing like mushrooms notwithstanding the occasional deadly accident of some fireworks' enthusiasts.

On the inside of the churches one can see a complimentary transformation. Damask covering the walls of the church together with silk woven tapestries, impressive chandeliers, bunches of flowers, large candles, front altar, statues on highly engraved wooden pedestals, and the rest give an impression of a rich church celebrating a special feast. In many parishes they are forking out large sums of money in order to adorn the patron saint statue with golden rings or necklaces and in some particular cases, incredibly, sandals made of silver!

Bells drown every imaginable noise on the feast day. The traditional band march gives the opportunity to the very young in order to express their usually submerged emotions. In the morning there is the traditionally 'High Mass' where tenors and choirs perform Gregorian music. There is the long homily where the preacher has to be a great orator, as he has to have a very special knack in order rhyme words. In some parishes as he carefully watches his step he has to go literally in a very high place - the pulpit. In some cases the common people judge him in a very strange manner. In fact the quantity of Latin quotations or mentioning of the patron saint's name mark the preacher's success or failure!

In the evening the procession is the main event where religious beliefs are publicly shown. People fill up the streets in order to watch the traditional passing by of the main statue. Confetti is thrown to the delight of the organisers of the procession who always declare that this year their festa was simply the best on the island! As the patron saint returns to its church building, people go wild with enthusiasm as they clap, cry, sing and emit all sorts of expressions as they welcome it back! Pastors (parish priests) just try very hard to give a spiritual touch to the folkloristic feast by making way for adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Photo: Department of Information