Good Friday
The traditional Good Friday procession departs from the the Parish Church of the Assumption in Mosta, better known as the Rotunda. Photo: James Caruana
Several towns and villages yesterday commemorated the Passion of the Christ with organised and solemn processions of statues.
Around 17 towns hold Good Friday processions, in which statues representing this particular episode in the Passion of the Christ are carried by pallbearers.
Between one statue and another (some ten in all) participants are dressed as biblical characters who take part in the procession in a dignified manner.
Many processions include men in penitence bearing a cross and sometimes dragging chains as well tied to their bare feet as penitence.
The Good Friday ritual in Malta includes visits to seven tabernacles, or ‘Altars of Repose’, in seven different churches. Sombre, and solemn religious processions and pageants are held in many towns and villages, with statues and costumed, local amateur actors representing scenes from the Passion of Christ.
In some parts of Malta, these processions include a number of penitents dressed in white robes and hoods, walking barefoot (or occasionally with chains tied to their ankles) as an act of penance or in fulfilment of a vow. This is a unique, medieval tradition which still survives today.
Easter Sunday in Malta, by contrast, is marked by the incessant pealing of church bells, and festive, fast-paced processions, with the youth of each town running through the streets bearing sculptures of the Risen Christ. There are no less than 25 Easter processions organised across the Maltese Islands - 15 in Malta and 10 in Gozo.
The Statue of the Risen Christ signifies the last act of the Passion of the Christ - Christ triumphant over death. Maltese tradition dictates that children carry their Easter pastry (figolla) to be blessed the statue of the Risen Christ.
Easter in the Maltese’s seasonal calendar heralds the beginning of spring.
Families generally gather for Easter Lunch, to celebrate and eat and drink together. Traditionally lamb is eaten followed by the Maltese traditional sweet figolli, prepared days in advance, and handed out to family and friends.