Easter Sunday in the open, lamb at home

Easter Sunday was hazy yesterday, but it was the outdoors for many who chose to spend the feast day in the open, picnicking rather than eating at home, or in restaurants.

Spring is in the air and families took the opportunity to bask in the warm sun, while children played in the open air. Ta' Qali proved to be one of the more popular spots where to spend the day.

But apart from the fact that some Easter lunches moved outdoors, traditional menus seem to have been followed, with roast lamb being the standard dish.

A Sliema butcher, with a pulse on Maltese meat-eating habits, felt that the tradition of eating lamb at Easter was still being upheld.

Emmanuel Bezzina has been in the business for 42 years and could say that roast lamb was still the number one dish at Easter and that the tradition was still going strong, despite the variety of meats available at butcher shops.

Many eat out, but the majority of those who eat at home prepare lamb, usually roasted, Mr Bezzina said.

He was still selling lambs the way he did in the past and had four freshly killed this Easter, topped up with imported lamb from New Zealand to meet the demand.

"If they don't find the fresh, local product - of which production is quite low - they resort to the good quality imported product to keep up the tradition," Mr Bezzina said.

Despite the fact that fresh local lamb was not that readily available, families did not go disappointed.

Mr Bezzina himself ate lamb at his daughter's yesterday, always willing to keep up the tradition.