WATCH: Spectacular videos of Mellieha show the beauty of the village’s epic ‘Bambina’ feast
The Mellieha feast is one of Malta’s most beloved feasts.
In honour of the Mellieha feast kicking off yesterday, Gabriel Micallef shared these stunning videos of the beauty that the local village feast has to offer.
The footage thoroughly captures the character and essence of what make such a feast a great one!
The Mellieha feast is one of a number of feasts that celebrates the nativity of the Virgin Mary, otherwise locally know as the feast of Marija l-Bambina.
These iconic feats may be celebrated on the 8th of September but festivities in Mellieha start way before that. In fact, all the celebrations expected all throughout the week kicked off yesterday!
The day is the feast is also a public holiday for the Maltese Islands as apart from celebrating the nativity of Saint Mary, the day also recalls the end of three historical sieges through the islands’ history.
Such sieges include, Great Siege of Malta of 1565 from the Ottoman Empire, the Siege of Valletta from the French Blockade in 1800 and the Siege of Malta from World War II, which ended in in 1942.
Therefore, celebrating the Marija l-Bambina is even that more special. Yesterday, the statue was taken out of the niche it has been sitting in since last year. This marks the day the epic feast officially starts as a full schedule of activities follow in the days leading up to 8th September.
Several musical programs are organised by all the Mellieha Band clubs including the the Imperial Band Club and the La Vittoria Philharmonic Society as they march alongside Mellieha's streets while many locals join in on the fun. They joyously sing and dance to all the original Mellieha festa songs that are being played live by the band.
The morning march on the day of the feast (8th September) is perhaps the feast's highlight as everyone from the village and even from Mellieha’s surrounding villages gather on the streets of Mellieha with everyone jumping and dancing to celebrate this happy day.
But what you must not miss while visiting the Mellieha feast is their stunning display of fireworks. They mainly specialise in ground fireworks called giggifogu which colourfully light up the Mellieha Parish Square late at night on the eve of the feast (7th September).
On the day of the feast, everyone dresses up in their Sunday best and heads down to the parish square to see the statue coming out from the parish church as it’s carried on the lifters’ shoulders. The procession passes through all of Mellieha’s main streets as people follow it and sing Marian Hymns.
As the statue enters back into the church, a stunning firework display is held in the sky lighting up the village once again before the feast comes to an end.
September 9th, is often referred to as a 'Xalata' by the locals as the villagers take the day after the feast to soak up the sun and enjoy all the beautiful beaches Mellieha has to offer.