Tree without decorations in Valletta

On Christmas eve my wife and I decided to do some shopping in Valletta. As soon as we walked in through the main gate we were very disappointed to see the pathetic excuse for a Christmas tree which was looking very sad indeed. All it had were lights on it which were not on; ok, it was only mid-morning so probably they only light up when dark, but it had no decorations on it.

Where in Europe in major cities do trees not have decorations on them? Some tinsel, bows and baubles would have made it so much more pleasing to the eye. What must tourists have thought of it?

We also went to see the cribs on show at the Ministry of Health and the Tourism Authority, and these were well worth a visit.

We went to hear the Armed Forces band in the new St George's Square. Although there were quite a lot of people there we managed to find a seat, and with it being a very pleasantly warm day we sat for quite some time enjoying the music.

But apart from the carols being played, you would not have known it was Christmas as there was not one decoration or tree to be seen. Again, we were disappointed at the bareness of the area.

I hope Valletta trades people did well over the festive period, because although there were a lot of people in Valletta there were not that many actually in the shops buying anything while we were there, whether it was because people preferred to be out in the sun or because they did not have so much money in their pockets this year, who knows? I know both these reasons affected us.