Parish priests to study threats to religious nature of village feasts

A.M.Lombardi

Jan 8th 2009, 00:19

Lets see what the word of God has to say about Feasts:

Malachi 2:3 “Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces,The refuse of your solemn feasts;And one will take you away with it

Colossians2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ

Colossians2:16
For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth,visible and invisible,whether they be thromes,or dominions,or principalities,or powers all things were created by him and for him

Isaiah1:14
Your new moons and appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

Matthew15:3
But he answered and said unto them, why do ye also transgress the commandments of God by your traditions?

Matthew 15:6
And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free.Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Mark 7:13
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

B Bajada

Jan 7th 2009, 16:16

It's about time chaplains abolish external paganism and waste of time and energy. Congratulations to the chaplains, and I hope to have a quiet, beautiful summer without silly marches, fire-works, closed roads, etc!

Lawrence Cutajar

Jan 7th 2009, 12:36

Feast days: Only and strictly last four days before feast day.
Discos: Not permitted at all.
Band Marches: Organised by the church only.
Marc tal-Brijju: To be omitted.
Main festivities: Celebrazzjonijiet interni (fil-knisja biss).

Church collage should take note of the above. This is what the majority of the Maltese people want.

carmen caruana

Jan 7th 2009, 10:49

I'm not a believer, i don't attend to church and i'm don't attend much the feasts but I think that the feasts nowadays are more based on culture and tradition. It's a tradition that young people chose to support a saint and not the other according to their family. A feast also represent a celebration of a town, people go out and meet with each other.
On the religious belief i think that feasts lost their initial value. It's more about who's going to have the best feast and the longest 'kaxxa tal-murtali' or who's gonna have most people attending. I'm from Zurrieq so I know something about these things.
I like the idea of the feasts being a celebration of a town the 'murtali' is beautiful but of course who's religious, is going to find the feast as losing it's (or already lost) religious values.
Those who are believers don't attend to feasts for obvious reasons and the others attend just for tradition, so either ways the religious backgroud of the feasts are already lost.

J. Saliba

Jan 6th 2009, 09:38

This spectacle of tangas, breasts, nakedness, swearing, fighting, drunkeness, underage drinking, bottle throwing and lawlessness all in honour of the local saint must be brought to a halt. This scandal has become the characteristic of the Roman Catholic church in Malta - no wonder decent people are leaving it - a religion based on papier mache statues. Tradition, folklore, culture - tourist attraction, you must be joking. A couple of tourist friends I took along to see the morning marches at Hamrun were scared stiff. Could not the feast be celebrated decently with bands, processions, illuminations and beautiful fireworks without this pagan circus reminiscent of roman orgies?

Antoine Farrugia

Jan 6th 2009, 07:32

Re A Xuereb

I am from Mqabba. I want to deplore the comments passed by Mr A. Xuereb. During both feasts of the Assumption and our Lady of the Lilies, comments mentioned by Andre Xuereb were never said and rest assured will never happen.

Mqabba is known for the two fireworks factories and all the other things like marches, decorations etc. which BOTH SOCIETIES work on VOLUNTARY basis and use all people talents to pass on to the younger generation free of charge.

The comment I would like to suggest to Parish priest should go mainly to Valletta, and the three cities were all the clergy and the 'fratelli' enter the church while the statue remains for an hour in the streets.

Joseph Aquilina

Jan 6th 2009, 01:55

@Joe Xuereb (London UK) ,

Guitar playing and noise in a church worship time is good and proper, drunkeness is not. Noise keeps the people awake in church.

The word of God says "Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltry and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto Him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. (Psalm 33:2-3)

Joseph Aquilina, CANADA.

Francis Attard

Jan 5th 2009, 21:41

Let's hope that the parish priests do the job entrusted to them diligently. I sincerely beleive that the eventual solutions would not be easy to accomplish. To eliminate certain habits isn't an easy task. Anyway, at least finally it was realized that there existed a need to do something about the matter.
Good luck to them, they surely need it.

Emanuel and Josephine Borg

Jan 5th 2009, 21:20

As somebody commented earlier we have no outside celebrations at Santa Lucia except the ones previously mentioned.Unfortunately we have to endure loud noise from petards from other surrounding villages.This is not a case of one week a year but every week from May to October. There is nothing religious in this loud noise as early as 8o'clock in the morning or verylate at night . We appreciate that fireworks are works of art and we are not against village feasts but against too much noise and lack of disipline . We have to keep in mind the sick, the elderly,children,people who need to rest and animals. We are sure the money could be used better to help those in need.

j n ebejer

Jan 5th 2009, 20:59

Well if someone wants to give free entertainment and spend hours of voluntary work he should not do it at the expense of religious beliefs. As if all voluntary work is positive because it is voluntary and free and anything which renders good money as tourist attraction should have a blessing!
Such energy to do voluntary work will be better appreciated if it were directed to more needy situations - have a look around your village and identify what are the priorities and then we could all celebrate truly the patron saint and his unselfish dedication to the real needs around him set as an example for us to follow. Then let all the the merrymaking we want be!

But no, we choose to spend so much energy and money to built the lavish band club in ridiculous decorations including a dome to have it lighted for the festa- we might even criticise the Curia and the Vatican for not doing enough for the needy with the riches it has!

Long hours spent to discuss the new bandalori instead of getting involved in some activity from which the community can really benefit. Let's be honest, please.

Joe Xuereb (London UK)

Jan 5th 2009, 19:38

cont./ They may enjoy an afternoon disco after the morning's drunken revelry (not accounting for taste) but really they'll be off to Paceville in their fineries soon after sundown.
I have no axe to grind not being a church goer but I think the churces decided to introduce the strumming of guitars and so on to draw young people? retain their interest? To me this indicated that the Church had lost its confidence. Throwing in activities that are totally alien to the Church may sound like a bright idea but it will never work. That said, the village festa could still have a strong following as a tourist attraction, with still quite a high quaintness value. Provided the drunken revellers are banished for theday.

Joe Xuereb (London UK)

Jan 5th 2009, 19:24

cont./ In the unworldly days of yesterday such merrymaking was largely confned to the one occasion a year. I remember looking forward to the annual trip to the seaside but not getting to the water till well after three because of the heat and sun. This did not prevent us turning into lobsters with blisters. Some outing! Who these days would make the trek to Saqqajja to see half a dozen of asses racing? Not many (although tourists might find it amusing). The fenkata (cooking of rabbit al fresco) may persist but hardly the spirit. So times has changed everything. Children these days 'enjoy' treats all year round but that does not stop them getting bored.
Discos at a village festa is news, bad news. Whoever introduced the idea was either someone who decided that it was just what a festa needed and make a fast buck. Otherwise, it could have been some 'modern' young spark among the local clergy who thought that attracting otherwise indifferent youngsters would boost the crowds and draw them back into the fold. It boosts the crowd a liittle, just.. People, and the young in particular
stopped any serious connection between feast and religion long ago.

Joe Xue ereb (London UK)

Jan 5th 2009, 19:00

Often, tradition is strictly of a time and a place. I have been away from Malta for almost half a century and not been to a village feast for as long (unlike many Maltese who must be in Malta the week their village festa takes place. Much folklore is attached to feast, possibly some going back centuries. I imagine village feast were largely local affairs with some merry making. It was the years main event for any village. Hence the traditional finery and so on. The competitiveness with neighbouring villages and as villages grew larger and contained more than one parish within them (e.g. Qormi), the competitiveness (and often altercations) were directed at the parish down the street. Like everything else, the festa has evolved over the years. Some had quaint characteristics like the donkey race at Saqqajja. Back then a donkey was very much a working animal, even within living memory. It was prized as a beast of burden, it was part of any street-scene. It won prices at races. Also, there were the nght picnics at Buskett, traditionally comprising rabbit stew. And every village community enjoyed an organised trip to the seaside on the Monday.cont./

Charles Farrugia

Jan 5th 2009, 18:43

In any study of the sort parish priests cannot ignore the academic work that has been done on the subject. There are a number of published works by perosns such as Jeremy Boissevain, Adrianus Koster, and dissertations about the theme. The feast is not only religious but an anthropological and sociological phenomenon. One cannot repeat mistakes that happened in the past. Banning and suppression can have a counter effect as had the regulations imposed on secondary feasts in 1935. One feast in a small village was suppressed for 40 years to flourish once more with much more strength and vigor. Being myself from Mqabba and having followed the feasts for the last 30 years I am also unaware of the comments made by Mr Xuereb.

john muscat

Jan 5th 2009, 18:42

Why don't parish priests also discuss with the cthis issue with the ogranisations involved as well as the village or town community in general? The era of dictators has now passed.

I would like to ask another question. To whom does the church belong to priests or to the community. If the answer is that it belongs to the community the discussions should also include members of the local community and all organisations in the community.

If on the other hand the answer is that the church belongs to the clergy, then I'm sorry do not go to the communitiy for collections to organise the local fiests.

No wonder less and less people are attending church day by day. .

Andre Grima

Jan 5th 2009, 18:26

it' s simple to comment and judge on village festas, but if you are not involved, it s difficult to understand the loads of voluntary time and hard work by volunteers to contribute and offer FREE spectacular evenings to the Maltese and tourists!!

Joseph Bajada

Jan 5th 2009, 18:15

@ I Vella

Why stopping the murtali ??? Pyrotechnics work all year round to prepare for the feast without receiving any single penny ...so be proud of their work and enjoy their sacrifice...Remember malta should be proud of pyrotechnics because it have one of the best works in the works.

N. Papagiorcopulo

Jan 5th 2009, 17:44

2/2 On the other hand this study is necessary. Many new 'traditions' have been included in our feasts lately: discos, parties. Permits for such occasions should be withheld by authorities. Care must also be taken by the band clubs and Police to ensure that people behave properly during marches. Insults should not be tolerated. Many complaints also arise due to fireworks. It is true - we have been witnesses to many an exaggeration in the past years. This must be dealt with, however in the proper way. Pyrotechnics are a form of art and this art, that our people practice so well, should not be abolished. Proper rules by the state will ensure right practice.

Above all I ask one thing from the Parish Priests: I expect that in today's day in age, when the Church is seeking dialogue - to engage in dialogue. Festa lovers are not expecting a list of rules and the cancellation of the feast if these are not obeyed. The Church is not a dictatorial institution but one engaging in constant dialogue. I hope that our ‘modern’ parish priests will see to using such an approach! If not they will continue sending the wrong message.

N. Papagiorcopulo

Jan 5th 2009, 17:42

1/2 These comments give one the impression under some dictatorial rule... ban this, ban that. My God! Are we living in a Democracy? The local festa will continue to be not only a religious but also a social phenomenon. This is where the Church continues to err. The feast is above all religious definately- honouring the Mother of God or His Saints. For this reason it involves liturgical functions in the Church. I encourage the Church to give due consideration to the fact that many of its pastors have no idea of what a feast is and involves. Many a time they trample on all religious traditions that are part of the internal feast. The lack of understanding some of them display in front of such beautiful liturgy has moved many enthusiasts to concentrate on outdoor festivities.

Many parish priests simply view the feast as an extra job- a mentality is moving more people away from the Church, which must look at the feast as an opportunity to get people back. Parish Priests- wake up and smell the coffee... it is such occasions that will enable you to reach out to so many people who do not attend any more!

J. Tonna

Jan 5th 2009, 17:41

Friends, thanks for your comments. That is why the parish Priests are going to study threats to religious nature of village feasts. I understand your comments are being collected for discussion.

C. Busuttil

Jan 5th 2009, 17:11

Does the college of Parish Priests has nothing more important than wasting time on our local festa as if these are the only problem the church in Malta is facing?

The Parish Priest should worry more about how Christmas is now void of any religious aspect.

The parish priests should wonder why those who don't like the external celebrations are NEVER seen for the internal celebrations.

To all experts out there who don't even have a clue what a Festa involves and rush to conclusion such as that band clubs are responsible for all kind of troubles during the feast, the exception are not the rule. Only a handful band clubs are run by some hotheads the great majority have responsible and respectable people at their direction.

Festa organizers work ALL year long and they are at the forefront not to let others who usually come from outside their locality, ruin with their behaviour all that they worked for.

The parist priests should wonder why despite all their attempts to appear modern have failed while band clubs although being extremely conservative still attract people and are still so popular, besides having the ability to adapt themselves to present times.

Chris Schembri

Jan 5th 2009, 17:02

@ André Xuereb: Regarding the Mqabba comment:

I too am from Mqabba but I stand firm correct in saying both Feast Societies would have condemned and stopped such chanting such statements. I have heard different roumors, which I find shameful to even consider saying, but I have NEVER heard these personally, and I can assure you that I never miss one second of both Societies' Traditional Marches.

Supporters of both feasts celebrated in Mqabba, with any of their wrongdoings as in other villages, would never consider doing such acts. If you ever heard such statements, I believe that these would have been one or two persons who should be ashamed of calling themselves Imqabbin, and in NO way would these have been part of the Societies celebrations as seemingly depicted by André Xuereb. Mqabba residents are too fond of the spectacular feasts they celebrate in honour of the Madonna.

Albert Aquilina

Jan 5th 2009, 16:49

A suggestion: Can't we have just one All Saints Day celebrated in, say, August, and scrap all the village outdoor festa carnivals once and for all? All towns and villages festas' aficionados would then be able to celebrate to their hearts content on this day and we can all have peaceful weekends for the rest of summer. Naturally indoor religious activities could still be held in the churches on the actual feast days. Surely nothing will please the saints more.

Andrew Gatt

Jan 5th 2009, 16:42

Huh! I'd have thought the Church has more pressing issues to worry about! Falling Mass attendances, some really pressing social issues, a serious divide between its teachings and modern realities, the damage done by child abusing priests, the outdated attitudes of many Church members etc etc.

Sounds like a case of not seeing the wood for the trees!

John Mizzi

Jan 5th 2009, 16:39

I can almost hear the saints sighing with relief whilst uttering: "Ah, at long last, catholic Malta has woken up!". May I suggest they start with the pagan carnival atmosphere and parochial antagonism during the feasts of St George and St Mary in Victoria, Gozo? And the first persons they should censor are those priests, parish priests and archpriests who, by their active or tacit support, permit or close both their eyes to certain activities and behaviour by their parishioners.

j n ebejer

Jan 5th 2009, 16:22

Do we need a seminar to identify what is not religious in some aspects of our festas?
Honestly, it will be a harder and more intersting exercise to indentify what is the religious element in them.
Then comes what is traditional? What and how can be accepted as cultural, enriching or traditional?
Did always the Maltese celebrate the feast this way? It was only in the last century or a bit more that most of the aspect of the way village feasts are celebrated to day were added.
And what has been added and by whom? Has there ever been a consensus by the community as regards what is added, or imposed by band clubs or celebration enthusiasts?
Is the festa a tourists product or should it be so? Are our traditions a product? Should a band club have such importance amongst a healthy community?
To what extent a community which accepts such an anti social behaviour as seen in festas be considered as evolved, educated or a community? Are there communities which can qualify as a religious one? That would be a seminar worth hearing about!

R Azzopardi

Jan 5th 2009, 16:10

And what about Parish Priests whom with their behaviour threathen the unity among all the feast organisers in particular towns in central Malta?? Divide and rule .

E.Vella

Jan 5th 2009, 15:53

The threat for the Village Feast, first and foremost comes from the Parish Chaplains...for or they don't believe in the saint they are speaking about, they side by a party instead of remain neutral, and when everyone in the Parish says the feast is degenarating into insults and anti-christian attitudes, the Chaplain does not have enough courage to condemn what is wrong, for afraid of taking less funds.

This is not an attack against the Catholic Church but an attack against some of the clergy, for looking more to be popular than to do God's will...many times by undermining other sectors in the church as the same liturgy.

A little example: Only priests can dress Priest Vestments but in Zebbug, during the procession of St.Philip for the last years I repeatedly saw people which are not priests (I checked this info and I have photos) dressed as priests...a procession became carnival pageant...How this people have the right to discuss what they abuse of.

Christian Camenzuli

Jan 5th 2009, 15:53

i think that there are problems with village festas and that these problems are pretty known to many who ATTEND. the church is doing well to define them and hopefully subsequently tackle them.
having said this i find some comments here and every time this subject crops up to be rather inaccurate not to call them offensive (which by enlarge they are). Amongst these Anthony Formosa says : "How about banning these village feasts, to save energy from lighting every street, avoid children exposed to alcohol, less noise pollution, and more money in the pockets" and Mr I Vella says "How about stopping all the Murtali and hamallag?". probably these two people do not even go to festas!
i would like to remind everyone the gross contribution these socio-religious festivals have paid and still pay towards art in Malta. were it not for them, we will have almost no musicians in the national orchestra, less then half the full /part time painters and we wouldn't feature so prominently in international pyrotechnics. i would also like to remind that these festas bring about a lot of business.. credit crunch and all!
a little more respect is warranted!!!!

Ronnie Gauci

Jan 5th 2009, 15:46

Local festas should be reformed, to celebrate our Patron Saint we do not need to jam the whole village/town for weeks, sometimes a part of Malta is jammed like in the Msida festa. We don't need to spend thousands upon thousands of euros in fireworks and we can do a lot better without the morning "marc", in many localities like Zabbar, Zejtun, Hamrun and Zurrieq this has become the limelight of the feast and not the Patron reducing the festa to a sort of tribal war or in a Sodoma & Gomorra style festival, everybody swearing, half naked and painted up.

A couple of evening marches or concerts starting 2/3 days prior to the festa day would be more than enough. The money saved, which would amount to hundreds of thousands of euros yearly, could go to charity. This would surely make our patron saints happier I think but I do not think that the Church shares this point of view which makes me very suspicious.

Bertie O'Cassey

Jan 5th 2009, 15:42

I am absolutely not a feast lover but I do not think that all feasts should be abolished.
What should be done is to first of all have only one band club for every parish, this will already reduce the problems by 50%. Control the amount of fireworks that are used, this will also aid in the capturing of those making fireworks illegally. Stop the sunday morning marches and instead replace them by Catholic functions inside the church.Control the amount of persons that can gather infront/behind the band thus removing the "marc" where alcohol and foolish behaviour is at its worst. Instruct band clubs that if a "marc" scenario is gathering and police instruct them to stop playing and disband they are to follow instructions.
No leniency, if some locality cocks up the celebrations for that year will seize and the following years celebrations cancelled. All this can be acheived only with the co-operation of the police, band clubs, local council and the differents groups in the locality.
P.S. those who attach the "pavaljuni" should ask the house owner before drilling holes in the facade. If there is a civilised ambient civilised people might start to attend again.

André Xuereb

Jan 5th 2009, 15:33

@ G Portelli: On the contrary, whenever I'm on the island in summer I make it a point to go to festas... I love them (I am not talking from a religious point of view here; the atmosphere is unique). I just think that some people get carried away after drinking a little bit too much. I see nothing wrong with the paganesque celebrations that our festas are littered with -- let's be honest, fireworks are not very religious per se -- but blasphemy in what is supposed to be a religious feast is taking things too far.
PS: In reference to the Mqabba feast I mentioned, I stand by my statement -- I witnessed the event personally and heard it with my own ears.

G. Fenech

Jan 5th 2009, 15:31

As far as i know, one of the commandments says that one should not adore false idols.

Well... arent all these feasts, in fact, celebrating someone that isnt really God himself? So isnt the nature of adoration of someone other than god himself, going against Christianity?

I think the church should work on keeping the sexual offenders away from the children they "love so dearly", instead of wasting time researching threats to their silly feasts.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=54163541759&h=3-756&u=ELfAs

lgalea

Jan 5th 2009, 15:23

Let's keep the feasts but give back religious dignity to them by stopping the discos and the youth baccanalia as they have absolutely nothing to do with the religious feasts.

Chris Briffa

Jan 5th 2009, 15:23

Everyone here is talking against the festa. Does anyone of you know what a festa entiles in voluntary work? Does any one of you know the econimic impact a festa has? Does anyone of you apreciate the education our kids get rom the band clubs free of charge learning musical instruments, theatre etc. A note to the one who said to remove the scondary festa. Please note that the secondary feasts have the major population of the village behind them. Please let's talk constructive about our fests. There is allot which can be improved first and formost fom the Church itself becasue it distinguishes between a feast and another, a Madonna and another. If the church want to have better feasts first it has to update herself.

Nicholas Baldacchino

Jan 5th 2009, 15:18

@ André Xuereb

Dear Mr. Xuereb, please do not say things which just pop into your mind. Although there is a healthy rivalry between the two band clubs, the madonna is never mentioned in any such ill manner as suggested by yourself during either feast.

Please do not say things which are untrue and unjustifable.

The village festas are a very important characteristic for our country's cultural aspect and the band clubs are very important institutions in each and every village in Malta and Gozo. Don't be biased!!!

c galea

Jan 5th 2009, 15:09

Sounds like a waste of time to me!!!!, however if such seminars on religious festas can be used as a 'tool' to assist and bring people together and help "educate" them so as not to hold any barriers or any discrimination, be kind to each other etc, etc , then this could be a very beneficial thing and these type of seminars should strengthen the communities,otherwise please move over and get real !!!!!!!! Should one dare ask, Is this study being done as result of the fact that the Church itself may now be feeling the pinch by realising that there is a new 'emergence' coming out from bright young non church going generation who may not be interested in those old fashioned religious teachings or indeed prepared to be influenced by them??????????

Donald Borg

Jan 5th 2009, 15:02

Some of the village feasts are a disgrace. Drunken kids half naked showing their tatoos, swearing against the other saint. St Joseph against the Madonna--its shows the narrow mentality of some people. No doubt this is a reflection that the church has failed to educate the people that the feasts should be an occasion of uniting the village people in prayers and after enjoy ing the march in a civil way .I ASK THIS SIMPLE QUESTION Do you think that God approves such celebrations. ?

A. Vassallo

Jan 5th 2009, 15:01

Il-Festa is part of our culture and we need to keep on celebrating it, and I urge the Church Authorities not to take heed to those who want to stop them. Il-Festa is not "hamallagni" as described by I. Vella. Il-Festa is an outwardly veneration of Our Lady under different titles or of different saints.

Fireworks is an art in itself and it should not be abolished. What we need is more moderation and safety measures whilst they are manufactured. In most instances, the Church Authorities in towns and villages are not responsible at all for the amount and the strength of fireworks, so why certain bloggers are pointing fingers to the Church Authorities?

So are the discos that are held during Il-Festa are not the responsibility of the Church Authorities.. These discos have nothing to do with Il-Festa and I urge the police not to issue permits for these discos. In some places these discos are held close to the church and at the same time as religious functions are being held inside the church. These should be banned immediately.

Let us keep our Festa alive.

paul mizzi

Jan 5th 2009, 14:58

is anyone here objective enough to accompany such comments with the positive and important aspects of a festa? I wonder how many of you were ever into the setup of a traditional village festa and if anyone ever attended a festa!
I'm not here to mention what is good about such events. You all give the impression you are all intelligent enough to realise that yourself.
But let's be objective, refrain from generalising and say that yes, there are aspects that need rewording and others that are truly a treasure to our maltese identity - if maltese we all are!

Charmaine Chetcuti

Jan 5th 2009, 14:58

Lol is there the need of a seminar to identify these problems??? I thought that they were known to everyone! How about...dangerous fireworks, fireworks set off very late at night, drunk kids, girls who can actually apply for the Wet T shirt competition, and the use of intricate and beautiful adjectives aimed at the other feast/band club/ political party?

This is funny indeed! To my knowledge Sta Lucia is the only town where there is no 'outdoor' feast. The feast is celebrated by a beautiful mass with gospel singing and a 'Lejla Maltija'. No waste of money in armar and murtali!

G. Portelli

Jan 5th 2009, 14:57

@Andre Xuereb

I'm from Mqabba and sincerely I've heard all sorts of insults but never the one you mentioned. Maybe you're one of those waiting to hear on the news that all feasts in Malta should be stopped altogether. Well there's the moral aspect and the social aspect. I don't see why tourists should come to Malta for in Summer as the only difference between here and other med countries is that here you have FREE entertainment every day of the week. And by entertainment I mean band marches, fireworks and beautifully decorated streets.

Lawrence Calleja

Jan 5th 2009, 14:50

I congratulate the collage of parish priests for this initiative. I would suggest that other stakeholders such as local councils and the police force are also to attend such meetings. Afterall apart from the Kurja, the police and the local councils are well involved during titular feasts.
There are several points which require study during feasts such as the duration of feast celebrations should only consist from Thursday to Sunday or if the feast falls on a week day the last four days before feast day and not as it has become customed today where the feast prolongs for a whole week. Other issues involve fireworks; strict penalties against organisers who will not follow the church directives such as band club committees; discos during village feasts and many others.
Finally I hpe that this study will not take several weeks to finalise and that a final report is to be issued by not later than the end of this month.

H Gatt

Jan 5th 2009, 14:49

One should look no further than the infamous "marci ta' filghodu" and the "kummissjoni zghazagh" that are organised by each and every band club and whose sole effect have been to divide the local community and dishonour the feast's patron saint with drunkenness and every imaginable 'hamallagni' and obscenity!

N Zammit

Jan 5th 2009, 14:47

Please don't generalize about feasts... I am a feast lover and I true beleive that certainly there are exagerations in some villages. Fireworks should be limited for the last 3 days of the feast and discos should be banned on the feast weekend. In my village we celebrate a feast with the bare minimum of fireworks i mean saturday evening and sunday evening only.. its still a nice feast and no one ever complains about fireworks! after all yes fireworks do make a nice environment in feasts but they are not everything!

Anthony Pace

Jan 5th 2009, 14:41

Is this the first step before a National Conference on Feasts is held? This had been spoken of during the meeting Archbishop Cremona had with youths involved in Feast organisation.

Well done Fr Overend, this will be a good start to having feasts being celebrated in their true meaning - honour the Saint or Madonna through the internal and external celebrations. Always keeping in mind that liturgical celebrations are to prevail over outdoor celebrations. This is after all the main wish of Archbishop Cremona for the last two years to feast organisers.

Alexander Morana

Jan 5th 2009, 14:24

What is there to study the celebration and idiotic feasts of the gahan?
Aren't these feasts a testimony of Malta's past, where the Church manipulated even the village idiots' entertainment?

anthony cassar

Jan 5th 2009, 14:15

is there something religious in village feasts ?
petards exploding all time of the day and night. people drunk infront of the bands playing their programmes. insults to the other band club, patron saints or neighboring villages. bar and mobile kiosks selling items at exorbitant prices. at least there's the mass on feast day that is attended by a good number of parisioners.
it's a long way to go Fr.Eric

J Psaila

Jan 5th 2009, 14:12

Simply limit the village feasts to the purely religous functions. Do away with all the noise pollution that comes from external activities particularly fireworks and loud-mouthed inebriated individuals.

André Xuereb

Jan 5th 2009, 14:07

I suggest a trip to one of the feasts of Mqabba (I can't remember which), where the supporters of one of the Madonnas can be seen in front of their opponents' kazin shouting that the latter's Madonna is not a virgin. I kid you not.

josef sammut

Jan 5th 2009, 13:59

Study? Haven’t you seen enough? Isn’t it disgraceful enough?! Well keep on studying while the herd is getting lost more then ever.
Some things never change and this must be one of them.

Anthony Formosa

Jan 5th 2009, 13:47

How about banning these village feasts, to save energy from lighting every street, avoid children exposed to alcohol, less noise pollution, and more money in the pockets.

Mark Cassar

Jan 5th 2009, 13:47

nehhu lis sekondarji kollha - festa titulari biss go kull parrocca!!

michael fenech

Jan 5th 2009, 13:45

How about stopping that nuisance DISCO after the morning march, I can't see what that's got to do with the festa,the way I see it , it's only there so our KIDS get drunk and get in trouble,not to mention the noise pollution.

Anthony Mercieca

Jan 5th 2009, 13:36

The element of celebration is part and parcel of human nature. Christian faith elevates such to understand that celebration is in place if it is inclusive and not divisive. So anything divisive in the fiesta either is mended or excluded. Emphasis to include the weak directly and indirectly either by organized activities or by being considerate with noise levels whether petards or bells marches or discos should make the real christian reveller proud that his fiesta was shared and enjoyed by all.

I Vella

Jan 5th 2009, 13:35

How about stopping all the Murtali and hamallag?

Peter Green

Jan 5th 2009, 13:22

We all know the church is just talk and no action. The feasts are now purely pagan mainly used to make big bucks. Does the church care about the damage its festa fireworks are doing to the Maltese people. They agravate ashma and cancers. The petards are diabolical!

The church should only allow very limited fireworks with very low explosions. Jesus kicked out all the merchants from the temple. Why does'nt the Maltese Catholic church practice the real teachings of Jesus? No wonder why Maltese are turning to other faiths and non Catholic Christianity.

R. Bartolo

Jan 5th 2009, 13:03

How about studying how village festas threaten the religious nature?
Or maybe even the surrounding human nature?

a sultana

Jan 5th 2009, 12:43

the threats are well known...nothing to STUDY!