This weekend marks the feast of St George in Gozo’s capital, Victoria. The celebrations involve a variety of festivities, cultural fare and popular entertainment, but one of the highlights is the demonstration of the statue of St George, one occurrence of which takes place on the Friday of the feast’s weekend.

To commemorate this day, the National Archives of Malta shared a photo of this traditional demonstration happening during the feast of St George in 1967. One can observe the crowded parapet of the church, known as the ‘zuntier’ in Maltese, filled with excited feast-goers.

Two other interesting customs of this traditional feast include the panegyric and the translation. In the former, a preacher belonging to a religious order delivers a panegyric, ‘panegierku’ in Maltese, describing St George and his life. During the translation, the relic of St George is presented to the congregation by the clergy, in the form of a short procession.

The week-long celebrations of the feast include spectacular fireworks let off from the Gelmus hill in Gozo, as well daily ground-based pyrotechnic shows and various marches that typically characterise Victoria's feast of St George.

Wishing a happy feast to all those celebrating St George this weekend!