Food, processions & fanfare: Why you'll enjoy Easter in Malta even if you're not religious
Easter is the most important religious feast in the Catholic faith. But there’s something to enjoy about it, no matter where you come from.
1. The food
Let’s begin with the most important first. The part everybody loves about Easter: the seasonal sweets! The inherited hot cross buns and chocolate eggs; the traditional almond-based kwarezimal and figolli - not to mention the indulgence on Easter Sunday with a feast to satisfy all cravings. You may gain a little weight but it has to be worth it! Please the belly and all else will follow nicely.
2. The exhibitions
If you want to play tourist and look at things with a curious and playful eye, you might enjoy the various pageants, exhibitions and devotional activities, giving you a taste of the local religious culture, even if you’re not into the structured workship. The processions, winding their way through Maltese villages in period costume are nothing short of theatrical!
3. The doom and gloom processions
You think Halloween is ghoulish? Hooded men dragging chains or carrying wooden crosses in penance can be very scary, as the Maltese traditional Easter procession can testify. Men, women and children, in costume and carrying vivid statues, are accompanied by sombre music from brass bands capable of making anyone want to slash their wrists. It really does not get any more doom and gloom than this.
4. Fanfare on Easter Sunday
On the other hand, Easter Sunday calls for a huge devotional party. Head to the historic walled city of Birgu for an authentic experience, during which the statue of the Risen Christ is taken for a celebratory run back into the church after a stroll around the city. As Christ triumphs over death, children get their figolli blessed. Holy sweet! You can also go to Qormi to see such action!