A day to remember

July 16 is a special day to be remembered by many, especially myself and my half-Gozitan husband. We had a wonderful trip to Gozo as guests of the renowned Nicolò Isouard Band Club of Mosta which was once again invited to participate and to perform a concert at the St George's feast, in Victoria.

It was my very first experience indeed to witness this spectacular feast organised by the Gozitan Gjorgjani. The 400- year-old St George's church is one of the most astonishing houses of God that I had seen.

The baldakkin over the altar is a replica of the one found in St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican. Its interiors and colour concepts are awesome and mere words cannot express how magnificent they are. It is simply majestic.

When the statue was carried out to the church door, the La Stella Band played the Italian hymn Al Glorioso Martire, accompanied by a baritone and a melodious choir that intensified the already emotional atmosphere. As soon as they sang the Gloria at the end of the hymn, the church bell struck, while those surrounding the statue raised palm branches saluting their patron saint.

Colourful confetti in star shapes were showering from the church's roof over the statue and little children on private balconies were tossing confetti onto the crowds as the thunderous fireworks filled the sky with colours. All these brought the roaring crowds to another peak of emotion.

My husband then explained the lyrics of Al Glorioso Martire to me: "While the army of saints, waving palm branches, were singing in heaven glory to George, the immortal knight ...."

The unity of love and respect the Gozitans have for their patron saint were expressively enthusiastic. Many had tears of joy in their eyes. Cheering, applause and praises in honour of their saintly hero did not stop at all. Several tourists who came to witness this event were moved by what they saw and did not hesitate to join the cheering crowds. Some of them even followed the procession till the end.

While taking some photo shots from a private balcony across the church, I saw a familiar face in my camera lens. It was our beloved Bishop, Mgr Mario Grech, at the church door. He was carrying the relic of the patron saint. Everyone was overjoyed and applauded as he walked along with the procession.

Once the procession had left the church, we went around Victoria to view the vibrant street decorations. The dazzling neon lights in floral shapes were lit up while an array of multi-coloured banners flanked both sides of the streets and around the market square together with statues of various saints and angels.

Not far from the market square, the Nicolò Isouard Band was playing marches. Although, there were many spectators, we could not resist joining them. The band was led by Emanuel Spagnol and members of the club committee as it headed towards the church square.

Other than the shops and bars, there were various mobile food and beverage kiosks stationed along the streets. It was convenient for us to grab a bite or two while resting our feet.

After supper, we returned to the square where the concert was about to be performed by Nicolò Isouard Band. The programme was impressively arranged and included both local and foreign excerpts.

The procession had finally come to an end when they reached St George's Square. The awaiting crowds once again, cheered their patron saint while singing the St George's hymn along with the band. The statue was turned around facing the crowd before being carried into the church.

Some foreign visitors who remained till the end shared with me their feelings. They confessed they had never seen such a spectacular feast before in their life. This tells us that the Maltese culture and traditional feasts have certainly brought them a new experience to be treasured. A big prosit to the Maltese and Gozitans for bringing a thousand smiles to many.