Some village feasts celebrate hatred

The feast season is almost over. A lot of what we see in the feast is beautiful and a lot is ugly and demeaning. Maltese and Gozitan traditional feasts are a source of cultural pride. They are centuries old and have been passed on for generations and each of them has its own distinctive nature. I love feasts and attend as many as I can to be part of the vibrant celebrations that are generated from many hearts that bind together to give honour to their patron saint.

Many people in each town and village all supposedly come together as one on this very special day to generously express their love and admiration for God and his servants and martyrs. Being there one can witness the fruit of love the people have produced on this special occasion, especially coming from the volunteers in each sector from hard work to desk jobs such as preparing the annual souvenir magazines. But some are infested with hatred against the other parish or band club.

To me, feasts are the Maltese culture in full colour. I love the church functions, the bands, the concerts, the church and streets decorations, the fireworks, the ringing of the bells and all the noise and junk food that come with them.

They are all beautiful and deserve a reward. Some are bigger than others, but even the ones in the small villages are equally beautiful. I love steaks and fillet mignon, but I also like hamburgers, chips and ħobż biż-żejt. Different foods but equally satisfying.

What truly saddens and puzzles me is the hatred shown by some people who care to offend the ones of the “other” parish or the “other” club. Insulting others is not the way to “honour” their patron saint, it’s also uncivil to do so. Also, it is horrifying when I see little children on their father’s shoulders during a band march and these kids uttering insults to the “other” side. These children will grow up with the same hatred that unfortunately some of the old fashioned “devotees” have grown up with.

Malta and Gozo are our islands. What takes place in them belongs to each and every one of us. The feasts should make us very proud, knowing that they are there for our devotion and celebration and knowing that even tourists are truly enchanted by what takes place in these celebrations.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before” is the most common comment I hear from tourists in various towns and villages.

If parish A has more fireworks or decorations than parish B, so what? In fact I prefer one with less fireworks; more peaceful. I loved every feast I went to. Even if they were not on a par with regard to decorations or whatever, they were still beautiful and entertaining. By not attending the “other” feast, many are losing out a lot. The parish priests need to educate their parishioners more and make them understand that what some are doing is not only uncivilised but is also a sacrilege. Certain band clubs should shoulder the responsibility to ensure that feasts take place without any incidents and they should ban the insulting lyrics that many times are sung during band marches. How these lyrics are permitted is a puzzle to me.

Celebrating together will bring more harmony to each town and village and make the feasts more successful and enjoyable – as we see in places where friendship reigns. It takes maturity and dignity to achieve this and with a bit of effort we can see it happen.

I feel that the Curia, the parishes and the band clubs are not doing enough to eradicate the hatred that exists. If these fail to control it, then the government should step in and ban lyrics where hatred is clearly demonstrated. There are many such “hymns” which glorify the hatred for the “other side” bring shame on our supposedly Catholic nation.