Manikata pays tribute to the pumpkin
Video: Paul Spiteri Lucas
As halloween is celebrated the world over today, including in Malta, the tiny village of Manikata paid a special tribute to the humble pumpkin, a nutritious and versatile plant that, when carved and filled with a lantern, goes hand in hand with this holiday.
The Manikata Pumpkin Fair, organised for the third year running by the Koperattiva Rurali Manikata, along the streets of the village, boasted stands with typical local foods made with pumpkin and prepared by volunteers.
There was pumpkin soup and risotto, prepared by students of the Institute of Tourism Studies and a bar set up by volunteers.
Other activities included a fair trade stand, traditional Maltese music, a children's corner, a classic car show, exhibitions of restored antique water pumps and agricultural implements and farm animals.
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H Micallef
Nov 1st 2010, 15:21
To Joe Scicluna,
Dear SIr please note that I was at the pumpkin fair yesterday next to the ITS stand. I think your statement needs to be corrected, it is unjust for you to give a bad name to a school, when thier purpose as an institution is to for them to set an example . Just for you to clarify, ITS was producing VAT reciepts all the time. I believe that they are doing a fantastic job by participating in different occassions, demostrating various ways of cooking food.
They were also at the hamrun choclate festival doing the same thing and I congratulate every single individual that contributed in making such occassion possible and a success.
M. Calleja
Nov 1st 2010, 03:03
I though this was a pumpkin festival that blends in well with the concept of the ancient Celtic festival 'Samhain'. Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was traditionally celebrated over the course of several days. Many scholars believe that it was the beginning of the Celtic year.
Halloween is a celebartion of the Eve of All Saint's Day. Wearing witches and fairies costumes adds to the magic of Halloween - children have another way to have fun, in a country almost totally privy of suitable family entertainment. As far as I know Saints are holy not fiendish.
Although not totally enthused by the fact that kids are nowadays celebrating an 'imported' holiday, then again, whom are we to say it is not to be celebrated ? After all, Carnival is also a secular holiday. Grandmaster Lascaris even went as far as to abolish it due to the obscene turn of events it had taken during tenure, when it was nothing pre-Lent but every little bit an orgy of gluttony, drunkards, gambling and sex: definitely not the Catholic kind of thing. We abolish Carnival?
Mario Zammit
Oct 31st 2010, 19:12
@C. Busuttil. Jien ma nistghax nifhem ghala din il-biza kollha meta ssir xi haga differenti. Il-knisja tal-Manikata taqbel ma dak l-ambjent rurali li tinsab fih. Immagina knisja mibnija bl-istess stil tradizzjonali bhall ohrajn bil-koppla u l-kampnari go dak il-post. Ghandek kull dritt tghid li ma tghogbokx imma li tghid li hi kerha pesti u hmerijiet turi nuqqas ta' tolleranza ghal gosti ta' haddiehor biex ma nghidx mohh maghluq.
Joe Scicluna
Oct 31st 2010, 17:07
The pumpkin pies were very good selling at just 3 euro...so were the pumpkin cakes for just 2.50...delicious...but the ITS stand was a rip off...five euro for two spoonfuls of risotto!! and VAT dept please note...everyone was giving out fiscal receipts except ITS ..........is ITS above the law or what? cos they were not giving out a receipt for their expensive risotto which would have been cheaper if it was sold in Paceville...Organisers please note!!
Jeremy J Camilleri
Oct 31st 2010, 15:47
No mood for debates today......
HAPPY SAMHAIN..OR HALLOWEEN to all who want to celebrate it...
joseph Borg
Oct 31st 2010, 14:54
@Marija Busuttil
Agreed with you 100%. To day even in Malta are loosing christians traditions and morality to please satan.
Jesmond Micallef
Oct 31st 2010, 14:43
Manikata is famous fo its fine example of modern Maltese church architecture.
http://manikata.co.uk/stjoseph.aspx
Nice, well done to all for the 3rd edition of the Manikata Pumpkin Fair. Very healthy and nutritious.
C.Busuttil
Oct 31st 2010, 15:33
tghidli xejn kemm hija sabieha, it-tifel tieghi bil-building blocks kapaci jaghmel ferm ahjar.
Gilormu Cassar jinqleb fil-qabar meta jisma dawn il-hmerijiet
Jesmond Micallef
Oct 31st 2010, 16:12
The Parisians did not want the Eifel Tower back then. Do you imagine a Paris without it today ?
C.Busuttil
Oct 31st 2010, 17:35
X'Ghandu x'jaqsam, tghid mhux ser inhallat torri tal-hadid mall-colosseum. Il-knisja tal-manikata m'ghandha xejn specjali anzi kerha pesti kieku mhux ghax dar il-MULEJ bejnha u garage mhemmx differenza.
IL-KAPACITA tinsab meta taghmel xhaga kbira li tinvolvi hafna talent u xoghol mhux ejja ha nmorru. Kif filkaz tal-manikata ghax kieku mhemxx salib l-anqas tinduna li knisja. U mhemmx skuzi ghax kommunita zghira ghax f' Ghawdex hemm irhula izghar imma l-knejjes mill-isbah.
Michael Grech
Oct 31st 2010, 19:44
@C.Busutill, M'hinix xi fan kbir ta' Richard England, imma jekk ma tifhimx f'certa tip t'arti, titkellimx. Qisek dawk li ghalihom il-kollosew (la semmejtu...u tajjeb nghid li lili joghogobni hafna) hu kocc kolonni u arkati fuq xulxin. 'Il-kapacita tinvolvi f'li taghmel xi haga kbira'...x'int gharef! It-tempietto ta' Bramante, hafna tempji griegi, ecc. mhux artistici mela ghax mhux kbar!
Jesmond Micallef
Oct 31st 2010, 19:52
C.Busuttil, Ghandek tkun taf ghalfejn din il Knisja giet mibnija b'stijl ta girna f'nofs il kampanja Maltija, le !!
Maria Busuttil
Oct 31st 2010, 14:37
Please let me remind everyone that halloween is no Christian festival, in fact it is a feast dedicated to the evil spirits and gives them more power, while giving pleasure to satan as he makes fun of us! It is a tradition rooted way back 4000 years ago, when human victims and newborns were sacrificed to the evil spirits. Stop this folly!
axuereb
Oct 31st 2010, 14:46
It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.[4][5] Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.[6] Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
mario busuttil
Oct 31st 2010, 14:48
Common Maria let this event be celebrate in new moderns toughts,don't compare ancient times like this event...
Jesmond Micallef
Oct 31st 2010, 14:49
Its called the Manikata Pumpkin Fair, Ms. Busuttil. The event celebrates the Pumpkin.
Franco Farrugia
Oct 31st 2010, 14:53
You speak of this kind of 'folly'! For goodness' sake, lady, what makes you think that we should celebrate only 'Christian festivals'? What makes a 'festival' 'Christian'? Do you know that Christmas Day itself started off as a pagan festival? And what do you mean by saying that the devil are given more powers? Let people live! (Admittedly, this is not a festival ingrained in the Maltese culture, but so what!)
A Vella
Oct 31st 2010, 15:05
Good no one wants you to enjoy this feast, but let others who don't believe in good and evil faries enjoy it. Who told you that in Malta we can only celebrate christian "festivals"? Ma nafx kif ghadhom jezistu nies bl-istess mentalita` tieghek. Oh I don't like carnival actually, should we ban it? .. DOH! Le hux? Ma mmurx kif ghandek taghmel int fil-halloween, ticcelebrahhiex. Hadd mhu jaqbdek min xaghrek u jlibsek kustum wara kollox. Relax naqa u itghallem irrispetta nies li ma jemmnux bhalek please! .. gejja bil- kristjani u satana u stop this folly, x'kull wahda!! Int min int biex tikmandani x'niccelebra?
ray sacco
Nov 1st 2010, 08:53
@maria busuttil:
lol! "evil spirits, more power"!?!?!?!? please!!!!!!!! i am certainly not a hallowen fan, but as long as i am not bothered, let them have fun! we are living in a democratic country! and while you're at mentioning human sacrifices of some 4000 years ago, you can also bring up the human sacrifices rooted back to the depressing bloody inquisition era! but that was a christian festival, i presume!