Mid-April sees the culmination of Holy Week festivities all over the Christian world, but particularly so in staunchly Catholic Malta, which has a long-standing tradition of religious celebrations.
The 40-day period of Lent leading up to the great Christian festival of Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is no longer as rigorous as it once was. Fasting and abstinence from meat is now obligatory for Catholics only on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and Good Friday, although many Maltese families continue to eat fish, rather than meat, on Fridays.
Up till recently, the churches - of which there are over 350 in Malta - used to be draped in purple throughout the Lenten period; statues and paintings used to be covered in purple veils, while the ringing of bells was prohibited, in keeping with the austerity demanded by the liturgy.
Now that the liturgical restrictions have been relaxed, there is much less emphasis on austerity, but several traditions, handed down over the past four or five centuries and which are connected with Holy Week, survive to this day.
For example, the preparation of the Last Supper table takes place in various towns and villages, to commemorate the institution of the Eucharist at Christ's last Passover.
At St. Dominic's parish church, in Valletta, a lavishly prepared Last Supper display is open to the public. The place of Jesus and that of each apostle are marked with plates of multi-coloured rice, large circular loaves of bread studded with roasted almonds and sprinkled with sesame seeds (known in Maltese as qaghaq ta' l-Appostli), fruit baskets and chalices, nuts and figs, olives and dates.
The food is later ditributed to poor families in the parish. Other Last Supper displays, such as the one in the village of Lija, recreate, as authentically as possible, the Jewish Passover feast, and commentaries in English and Maltese explain the dishes laid on the table and the religious observances adopted by the Jews.
These Last Supper displays - some of them with young men dressed as Jesus and the apostles - are held on Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
But and even more widespread Holy Week tradition in Malta is the holding of Good Friday processions in a number of parishes. These include Valletta, Cospicua, Senglea, Vittoriosa, Luqa, Paola, Zejtun, Rabat, Qormi, Zebbug, Naxxar, Mosta, and Victoria, in Gozo.
A number of statues, or groups of statues, representing scenes from the Passion of Christ - ranging from seven to a smany as 14 - are carried through the streets of the town or village by white-robed men. Between one statue and another come young men, women and children dressed up as Biblical figures, Roman soldiers, and other personages connected with the Passion. Some of them carry Christ's Seven Last Words embroidered on banners made of purple or black velvet.
Others accompanying the procession include men wearing hoods with eye-slits, dressed in white robes, and walking barefoot, sometimes with chains fastened to their ankles and carrying heavy wooden crosses. These would be carrying out a vow they have made.
These processions, in contrast with the ones held mostly during the summer months in connection with the parish feasts, are very solemn affairs and there are no joyous fireworks or other celebrations.
In some parishes, such as Gharghur, a little village north of Naxxar, Passion pageants are held in the open air, usually on Palm Sunday.
Some of these statues are the object of great devotion. For example, the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, depicting Mary cradling the lifeless body of Jesus, who has just been brought down from the Cross, attracts hundreds of devotees, many of whom walk barefoot behind the statue. This statue, particularly the one in Valletta, is carried in procession on the Friday before Good Friday.
On Maundy Thursday, the Catholic liturgy provides for the removal of the Blessed Sacrament to an "altar of repose", from which it is then removed on Good Friday.The "altar of repose in the various churches is the object of the devotional "Visits to the Seven Churches" which the faithful undertake on the evening of Maundy Thursday ot the morning of Godd Friday.
These altars of repose are embellished and decorated with masses of flowers, especially lilies and gladioli, and lit with myriads of candles and light bulbs. Some of these altars of repose are more spectacularly decorated than others, depending, usually on the size and importance of the particular church.
Good Friday is suitable marked in Malta with sombre music on the radio, while cinemas and other places of entertainment are kept closed.
The sombreness is completely dispelled on Easter Sunday, however, as the Church in Malta, together with the rest of the Catholic world, celebrates the greatest feast in its calendar. Statues of the Risen Christ are carried, not in stately procession, but rushed through the streets of Valletta among other localities, to symbolize Jesus rising from the dead.
But Easter is also celebrated by Maltese families who exchange gifts, especially chocolate egges or rabbits (symbolising fertility), but above all figolli which are made of pastry filled with marzipan and coated with chocolate or icing, and shaped like human figures, or dogs, or doves, fish or baskets.
Eastertime also sees a spate of cultural activities, including the now established MUZIKAFEST organised at the University by the National Student Travel Foundation, which features young musicians and artists from various European countries.
Not surprisingly, Eastertime sees the first major tourist invasion of Malta and Gozo during the year. And, usually the weather is quite warm at this time.
(Courtesy of MALTA This Month April 90, Valletta, Malta)
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