|
The Maltese summer skies are lit up with spectacular fireworks during the festa season.
Although there are festas in winter and spring but the festa season reaches it's peak in the summer months with the climax being in July and August with some weekends having up to eight villages celebrating their festa.
A tradition dating back to the 16th century, the village festa honours the patron saint of the parish. Fireworks dominate these festas with every parish ready to outdo it's rival. The festa celebrations usually last a whole week, the facade of the parish churches are lit up and the streets are decorated with lights and banners. Marching bands wind their ways round the village and most try to cover most of the main roads of the village to bring the festa to a large percentage of the village population. The main events are on Saturday and the Sunday of the Festa.
On Saturday the traditional 'Giggifogu' is held in one of the village squares. This is a land-based kind of fireworks, mortars and flares are attached to rotating wheels on poles and as the flares burn the wheels spin revealing different colourful patterns. The 'Giggifogu' is usually followed by the regular fireworks which can be seen for miles. Known as 'Kaxxa Infernali' to the locals the displays light-up the Maltese saturday evening skies and on certain Saturday's in July and August you can see fireworks in every direction you look on the island.
Sunday is the official festa day and the celebrations start early in the morning with a morning march. The late afternoon starts with the religious ceremonies which are followed by a procession with volunteers carrying the statue of the patron saint followed by a marching band and devotees. As the procession makes it's way around the streets mortars are setoff and tons of confetti are showered on to the procession. At the end of the procession the statue re-enters the Parish Church and a huge round of mortars goes off and it is followed by more fireworks.
Food also plays in a part in the festa celebration, traditional nougat and many goodies are sold in the village main square
The partying continues onto Monday as many of the parish's citizens decend onto local beaches for a day in the sun.
For a full festa calendar please check out the Malta Calendar of Events.
|
