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Walking with Statues
Madonnas: usual in churches, niches & festas; not usually found doorstepping you. A day ago, I had a knock at the door just before 7pm. I rushed, thinking it was the postman as I was expecting an...
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The Legend of the Farmhouse the Devils Built
Passed down the generations - how Malta's myths & legends survive This title of this guest post speaks for itself. Malta of old, perhaps even today, is brim full of stories, folklore, legends,...
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Siggiewi’s Agricultural Fair, 12-13 June
Malta as it once was: agricultural life writ large Siggiewi’s now annual agricultural fare kicks off on tonight, Saturday 12 June, at dusk and runs till late morning on Sunday. It seems to get bigger...
View ArticleMdina Medieval Festival, 7-8 May
Mdina’s Medieval Festival is now an established annual event. It takes place a little later than usual this year, 7-8 May, probably to avoid the unseasonally damp weather it’s enjoyed in the past. This...
View ArticleGħanafest: Mediterranean folk music festival
The countries around the Mediterranean basin have more in common that just olives, limestone and sun. They nearly all have a rich culture of traditional music; a kind of homespun, vibrant, village,...
View ArticleImnajra: the folk feast (on rabbits too)
The public holiday known as L-Imnajra that falls on 29 June has to be one of Malta’s most obscure in origin and defies neat description. In the religious calendar, the day marks the Feast of Saints...
View ArticleWinter Solstice at Mnajdra Temples
I’ve been meaning to make it to the summer solstice at Mnajdra Temples for the past two years. But, I just can’t manage to get out of bed (at around 04.30) to get there in time – and I am a bare 10...
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Carnival in Malta 2013: a light and dark affair
Carnival in Malta and Gozo, 2013, runs 8 – 12 February. See the programme of the main Carnival activities in Valletta, 2013. Nadur Carnival programme 2013 (English & Maltese). Shops are...
View ArticlePrinjolata: King Carnival of Cakes
This is a cake designed to appeal to kids, or the kid in us adults. While Christmas cakes are ice-rink smooth perfection, the prinjolata, which starts appearing in cafés and confectioners in late...
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The Malta village festa
In 1965, the anthropologist Jeremy Boissevain wrote a sublime book called “Saints and Fireworks“. Its equally telling subtitle: “Religion and Politics in Rural Malta” is about the intertwining of...
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The Cave Dweller: visiting troglodyte homes of the past
A gentle breeze blows through the surrounding fields making the grass dance. Behind me, majestic Verdala Palace emerges from Buskett woods, an old hunting ground of the Knights; and to my right, the...
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Nadur, Gozo: discover more than its carnival
With carnival festivities over, the hilltop village of Nadur, Gozo, is out of the public eye for another year. But, says Elaine Gatt, strip off Nadur’s carnival mask and you’ll find there is far more...
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