Visiting Malta during the Easter Holidays?
The Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday will shortly be upon us. In every village in Malta you will find many processions, re-enactments, static displays and an assortment of local traditional food. The Holy Week is not a time of celebration but a time of reflection for the many devote Catholics in Malta.
In Siġġiewi, a village in the south western part of Malta, on Maundy Thursday, you will find thousands of people praying and singing hymns in a torch lit procession to Laferla Cross, which is located on a 219-meter-high hill.
The ‘seven visits’ also start on Maundy Thursday and continue till Good Friday. This consists of visiting seven different churches to pay homage to the Altars of Repose. Valletta is a popular destination for this purpose as there are many churches in close proximity ideal for the ‘seven visits’. Others take a longer route, even taking a pilgrimage to Ta' Pinu in Gozo, a famous basilica where it is believed that a Gozitan woman heard the Virgin Mary speak to her in 1883 and that also has statues representing the 'Way of the Cross' up a path on a hill just across the church.
All over the Maltese Islands you will find static displays of The Last Supper & the Way of the Cross. These culminate with the Good Friday processions (click on link for detailed article) before giving way to Easter Sunday a day of celebration and rejoice for Maltese families.
Holy Week in Malta
Food during Holy Week
Kwarezimal is a traditional Maltese biscuit which is given during lent. The name comes from the Latin word ‘quadragesima’, the first Sunday during the holy season, and which like on other Sundays of Lent, it is customary to dispense from the fast and not counted amoung the forty days of Lent.
Holy Week in Malta
Figolla is prepared during the holy week for Easter Sunday which is a pastry sweet filled with an almond paste and topped with a chocolate egg, typically in the shape of a lamb, fish or rabbit but they can come in any figurative shape.
Holy Week in Malta
Malta pays homage in various ways and with many timeless traditions during Holy Week. For more information on what is happening, visit the My Destination Events section.
