Eat, drink and be merry it’s Carnival time!
Then you have 40 days to repent on your waywardness
By Albert Fenech
Seventy two years ago I was aged just seven years old and Malta was then a sedate British colony recovering from the devastations of the Second World War and community entertainments for the person-in-the-street were very far and few between and were more-or-less religiously controlled.
These were Christmas, the New Year, the local Parish festa and – Carnival – besides the WWII commemorations but these were mainly for military forces.
As a seven-year-old boy before we migrated to live in London, England (72 years ago!), I vividly remember the thrills and enthusiasm of the three days of Carnival, the merry-making and the eating and being taken to Valletta to watch the Grand Carnival Parade.
In general, universally, February tends to be a dormant month of the year. Not in Malta! As featured in the previous article, the month hallows the Shipwreck of St Paul of Tarsus and the aftermath and generally always includes Carnival.
In Malta this year it is a bonanza plus month with an enormous event preceding Carnival. This is the Malta Eurovision Song Contest to select the song which will represent Malta in Eurovision Song Contest.
This will take place on February 4th, 6th, and 8th February at the Ta’ Qali Malta International Conference Centre.
Of all the events staged throughout Malta and Gozo over 365 days, this has always proved to be the most popular and the most viewed by television audiences and tickets have been on sale for some time and may be purchased from:
http://showshappening.com/Public-Broadcasting-Services-Limited/Malta-Eurovision-Song-Contest-2025/
Malta has participated in the contest for 36 times since its debut in 1971 and although it has yet to win the contest, it is the only non-winning country to have achieved four top three results.
To be quite honest this is not my field and although I always wish Malta and its participants well, I am not unduly bothered.
Since my boyhood days, Carnival has always held an enormous fascination for me. I have never danced in any event or worn costumes but the colours and joyous enhancements have always caught my eyes and my imagination.
Around the island, you will find plenty of shops selling different types of costumes, both for adults and children. On the main day, people usually wear fancy costumes and also costumes impersonating popular characters attracting the attention of the crowd and making the atmosphere livelier.
From many months before, several companies prepare their extravagantly artistic coloured floats, which are displayed on trucks and trailers. During the evening, during the defile’, another aspect of the floats emerges when they are lit up with LED lighting changing the dimension of the float to a different atmosphere of colours.
In my boyhood days, Carnival was exclusively held in Floriana and Valletta. This was resplendent for the existing community there as well as fairly nearby communities.
This year the Carnival will be all over the islands as 42 Local Councils around Malta and Gozo will be organising various activities for the Carnival period, after obtaining funds from the Directorate for Local Government.
The activities range from parades, activities related to traditional Carnival food and others.
Carnival activities will be held in the localities of Attard, Mosta, Naxxar, San Ġwann, St Paul’s Bay, Birkirkara, Gżira, Għargħur, St Julian’s, Senglea, Cospicua, Zabbar, Fgura, Floriana, Kalkara, Paola, Tarxien, Żejtun, Birżebbuġa, Gudja, Għaxaq, Ħamrun, Luqa, Marsa, Santa Luċija, Santa Venera, Siġġiewi, Dingli, Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Rabat Malta, Safi and Żurrieq, in Malta.
On Gozo, these will be in Rabat Victoria, Għajnsielem, Għarb, Munxar, San Lawrenz, Ta ‘Sannat, Xagħra, Xewkija, and Żebbuġ.
So, be prepared to let your hair down and make merry over these three days. Religiously they may well be frowned upon because of their waywardness in the late and Middle Ages but today they have become part of life in Malta and Gozo because of the following 40 days of Lent which, nowadays, has also become very relaxed and largely non-observed!
ALBERT FENECH
