Besides figolli and kwarezimal, a traditional Maltese Easter brings with it what must be one of the weirdest rituals ever - Il-Girja ta' l-Irxoxt. Loosely translated, this means "the run of the Risen Christ". Anyone who has lived in Malta for some years will know what I'm talking about - the Easter Sunday procession which does more than parade the statue of the Risen Christ in the usual manner. The carriers, invariably burly men who undertake this duty every year without fail, simply lift the statue high up in the air and perform a five-minute run that signifies the triumph of Christ's Rising.

If you think it sounds a simple enough affair for those with enough brawn, then think again. The exercise requires not mere brute strength but also great coordination, not to mention a sense of balance. What makes it particularly significant is the fact that this ritual dates back to the early 20th century and is probably the only such ritual to have survived without any modifications.

Today most major Maltese towns and villages attract crowds on Easter Sunday - most popular are the processions held in The Three Cities, Valletta, Paola, Naxxar and Qormi. I decided to meet up with historian Guido Lanfranco to find out exactly which elements have survived from post-World War II and which have died a natural death. Because the Maltese Easter of yesteryear was a far cry from what we're used to today, not least because celebrations started as early as Saturday morning.

Figolla lovers in fact would have felt right at home celebrating Easter in the days right before World War II hit. The reason? Instead of waiting for Easter Sunday to celebrate the Risen Christ, in those days Maltese Catholics somewhat jumped the gun and laid on the celebrations as early as Saturday morning.

Sounds strange? Mr Lanfranco chuckles at my incredulous face. As a child, nearly blinded by lust for figolla but not allowed even a sniff before midnight struck on Saturday, I would definitely have welcomed the pre-World War II way of doing things. Outdoor celebrations in those days were not that different to what we do today, Mr Lanfranco tells me - it's more the timing and the way of doing things that differ.

"Picture a city that literally changes overnight, between Good Friday and Easter Saturday. Because the celebration of L-Irxoxt was held immediately after Good Friday, the difference in the whole atmosphere and in the people's attitudes could not be more marked. One day you're fasting with stale bread and water and the next you're enjoying goodies like the figolla. There wasn't that one day interim that we have today," he tells me.

Many of us associate Easter with the triumphant ringing of the bells, for instance - what in Maltese we call idoqqu l-glorja. Already decades ago this ritual signified the end of mourning and the start of the celebrations, a whole day earlier than we're used to today.

"Even back then, the Three Cities were famed throughout Malta for the beauty and evocative nature of the processions. Religious activity was intense and everyone from the young ones to the elderly took part in the preparations," Mr Lanfranco continues.

Good Friday was a very busy day for anyone involved within the Church - and not just for the usual reasons. Bearing in mind that the following day Easter celebrations started, the sacristan and his helpers rushed around late on Friday to remove the black damask and put up the colours of the Rxoxt - red. By nine o'clock in the morning on Saturday, the bells would be ringing out the happy news.

"On Easter Saturday itself, the atmosphere inside the Church was completely different to what we're used to nowadays. The church would literally be choc-a-bloc. Teenagers, in particular, were notorious and as soon as the priest uttered the first 'Gloria' they would all erupt in cheering that was backed up by the joyous bells, the singing, the organ... The priest uncovered all the windows, the crosses and the paintings that were kept covered throughout the Lenten period. The same celebratory aura was present outdoors, with ships in the Grand Harbour sounding their horns. You could really tell that the whole community was celebrating a truly important occasion."

Street festivals and superstitions

Celebrations were not limited to the procession showing off the statue of the Risen Christ. People made their happiness known in whatever way they could. The butcher, for instance, rattled his knives on the counter because Easter Saturday also meant the end of fasting and a return to the usual hearty eating habits typical of the Maltese - which was obviously great news for any butcher!

"I guess it was almost like a festival - people at home would clang their doorbell or play their cuqlajta as soon as the first Gloria was heard. In those households where infants were present, these would be helped to stand up on their feet to signify Christ's rising. All these small rituals were sadly lost through the years."

Another tradition that was lost but that many will remember involved the so-called tbahhir, which literally translated meant the warding off of evil spirits or the evil eye. Religion was closely tied to superstition and this particular ritual involved going round the house with a pan full of burning olive branches.

The olive branches would have been blessed and preserved since the year before. A small part of the ritual has indeed survived and many Maltese to date zealously guard the blessed olive branches that are given out during Mass on Palm Sunday.

"The ritual signified new beginnings. It was meant to chase out bad energy and to replace it with new blessings."

Despite celebrations starting on Saturday, the biggest celebration of all was still held on Sunday - the procession itself. Back then, Easter was more of a festive occasion than it is today and the procession was a boisterous one.

"Things kicked off as early as five in the morning, when men playing the pipes and the drum went round the streets as though to tell people that the Irxoxt would soon be out. The streets were filled with jubilation and it was pretty much like a street festival, with carts selling cheesecakes, sweets, figolli and other Easter goodies," Mr Lanfranco reminisces.

What many will find weird is the fact that yesteryear's figolla was also decorated with an egg - only, this would be a hard-boiled egg as opposed to the chocolate concoction we're more used to today.

One thing I'm curious about: Did the statue of the Risen Christ get bandied about as vigorously as it does in most of the processions today? If there is one thing that the procession of L-Irxoxt is synonymous with, this is the burly men who undertake the responsibility of carrying the revered statue and whose toughest chore is the girja. As anyone who has ever been to an Irxoxt procession knows, il-girja happens when the carriers literally start running with the burden of this statue on their shoulders, much to the rowdy admiration of all onlookers.

"Yes of course, this tradition was already born back then. In Cospicua, for instance, the first run happened as soon as the crowd arrived in St George's Street and lasted all the way up to Sta Margherita Square, going through the throng. And because even then the Maltese weren't averse to a touch of rivalry, they would turn the statue to face Cottonera as though to tease them," Mr Lanfranco adds with a chuckle.

As the statue passed them by, young children held up their figolla so it could be blessed, all the time chanting: "Kristu Rxoxta birikhieli, bierek 'l ommi u 'l missieri!" (Risen Christ bless it for me and bless my mother and father too.)

Mgr Phillip Calleja, speaking about the Irxoxt procession in Valletta

"The whole tradition started way back, in the time of the Greek Papas. At the time the procession in Valletta started in Republic Street, near the chapel of St Catherine. After the war, the Greek Orthodox Church moved to Archbishop Street and the procession was taken under the wings of the Jesuits' Church instead."

Lawrence Zahra, life-long dilettante of Easter religious rituals

"In the old days, in Cottonera there was the tradition that the statue of the Risen Christ would be kept in a different place from the parish church. The people would go to request it on Easter Saturday - this particular tradition only happened in Cottonera. Between 1937 and the beginning of the war there was actually a time when the Cardinal vetoed the use of the statue during the Saturday procession."


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