In
Malta is traditional for every village and town to celebrate
the festivity of its saint, but there are other national
celebrations. One of most important and colourful is the
Mnarja celebration, a festival with a large tradition,
that includes folkloric music, dances and races of donkeys
and horses. Another festivity is the Imnarja, celebrated
on June 29, day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, where picnic
is made that lasts all night, and also with bands, parades
of decorated floats and singers competitions.
On September 8 is celebrated the Regatta that commemorates
the Maltese victories during the 1565 Great Siege and
World War II. The imposing Fort St. Angelo provides a
spectacular scene of the race with the colourful Maltese
boats. The Carnival has its epicentre in the capital,
Valletta, where a float parade and the party of Il-Kukkanja
is made, a competition between the inhabitants of the
town where a structure of branches is built to hang hams,
baskets of eggs, live farm animals and all type of provisions,
crowned by a globe with a figure with the colours of the
Grand Master. To a signal, the settlers send themselves
on the structure and take what they can, becoming that
their property. The person who arrives at the globe gains
a reward in money.
Christmas is another important celebration in Malta, when
they excel the hand made mangers called presepju. The
last weekend of August takes place the festivity of Saint
Julian, the hunters saint. The inhabitants celebrate it
by locating themselves at the ceiling of the church on
the holiday Sunday and shooting at the statue of the saint
while it leaves the church.
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