Parishes spending more on feasts

Expenditure on parish feasts by parish churches is increasing, the National Statistics Office said in its report on feasts in 2002.

Other substantial feast-related expenditure is incurred by band clubs, fireworks factories and other local organisations.

In the year under review, total parish outlay on feasts went up from Lm593,091 in 2001 to Lm606,595. Expenditure on parish feasts held in Gozo stood at Lm154,049, or 25.4 per cent of the total recorded parish feasts expenditure.

At Lm247,948, 40.9 per cent of all parish feasts outlay, outdoor activities claimed the lion's share of expenditure in 2002. A 19.4 percentage share spent on street decorations rated second.

In 2002, the surveyed parish feasts registered a total income of Lm600,504, an increase of 4.9 per cent over 2001. The bulk of this, 56.4 per cent, emanated from donations for the feast, followed by fund-raising activities, which generated 21.3 per cent of total income.

This is the third in the series of reports on parish feasts, launched by the National Statistics Office. It is the result of an enquiry among parishes in Malta and Gozo.