By Albert Fenech
It’s Holy Week and this Sunday is Easter Sunday. There is divergence in the Christian world on which is the most figuratively important – Christmas or Easter?
I tend to appraise the adoption by mainly Eastern Europe and Russia (when religion was practiced) that Easter is the basis of Christianity because of the Resurrection because it is the basis of Christianity and is widely recognised by countries like Greece.
Malta is no different and Easter bears the brunt of religious solemnity and this is the factor that I missed mostly in England throughout 15 years of residence there and in subsequent frequent visits to Plumpton and Horsted Keynes.
In Britain, Easter Sunday is solemn and Good Friday is reverent but that is as far as it goes.
GROWING UP
Growing up in Malta as a young boy – but still in Malta today – the whole of the Easter period is marked in solemn ritual, deprivation through fasting and abstinence, and religious events that lead to the final Sunday celebration.
Malta and Gozo are mainly Roman Catholic and in my boyhood were strictly Roman Catholic; most front doors or door knobs were adorned with a rolled strip of black cloth throughout; it was seen as blasphemous to smoke in the street, or to play loud music; children screaming at play earned a hefty slap around the ears.
Naturally, all Wednesdays and Fridays saw household menus strictly abstaining from any form of meat and daily fasting was expected.
In churches, all crucifixes and pictures were covered with purple cloth and priests carried out official church functions wearing purple dalmatic robes.
OUR LADY OF SORROWS
On the Friday preceding Good Friday every town and village conducted highly reverent and solemn street processions for Our Lady of Sorrows expressing her grief at the crucifixion of her son.
Holy Week followed and the first big occasion was Maundy Thursday beginning in the late afternoon with a church function and then adoration of the 14 Stations of the Cross. These were displayed on the internal church walls and each station depicted a scene from the crucifixion and a prayer was recited at every station.
GOOD FRIDAY
Good Friday was a day of absolute silence and in the afternoon all localities had a Good Friday procession, further solemnity and absolute reverence and Holy Saturday saw mainly empty streets and those that ventured out with sombre and sober expressions to denote their anguish and sorry.
EASTER SUNDAY 
Easter Day celebration parades
On Easter Sunday, the total change was dramatic. Many localities held riotous Resurrection parades and processions supported by clamorous street bands and the tradition of running with a statue of the risen Jesus Christ. 
For us children, it was a great bonanza with the presentations of chocolate Easter Eggs and the traditional marzipan decorated figollas covered in icing sugar designs – delicious. 
Easter eggs and figolli
A Sunday lunch of roast lamb
Sunday lunch was abundantly filling with traditional roast lamb and baked potatoes to really round off the whole of the Easter pageant. 
Unfortunately, this year Easter Sunday being held on 31st March will be a sad day for my brother and me because on this day in 2012 our dear mother Pauline Fenech passed away aged 89.
How she used to love baking and giving us the figollas she painstakingly made and watching us devour them. 
Thankfully, nowadays, although much of my religious devotion has passed away, these are beautifully made by my dear wife Matilde with her Sicilian style recipe (above)!
ALBERT FENECH
