In his sad attempt to deride the Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem event, Mark Anthony Falzon (‘The Bethlehem bazaar of silly, The Sunday Times of Malta, December 13), naively thinks that the organisers are trying and “failing in silliest, ugliest and most pointless way” to recreate a replica of the Palestinian town of Bethlehem and the life of Jesus of 2,000 years ago.
He is simply missing the whole point of what Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem is all about. As the name implies, the event offers the recreation of the story of the Nativity that took place in the town of Bethlehem, combined with the folklore of a typical Gozitan village, which includes a mixture of traditions, food, music and animals.
If Falzon is feeling nostalgic about driving up the hill from Mġarr and missing the splendid patch of garrigue, he should also remember that the area where the structures are situated was (unfortunately) a dumping site for many years.
He also refers to some megalithic remains which amazingly nobody else is aware of (unless he is confusing the area with places situated in the other part of the village, such as Tal-Qigħan and l-Imrejżbiet).
It is true that you can find Maltese delicacies for sale (such as imbuljuta, roasted chestnuts, ftira and honey rings) in order to make the event viable. But what is wrong with that?
Entrance is free and a family can still choose to spend an afternoon at Ta’ Passi and enjoy the whole experience without spending a cent. Oh, and by the way, there is no strawberry milk for sale, unless Falzon is inventing things to try to impress his readers.
Thankfully most people do not share Falzon’s deprecatory views, including the thousands that visit the village every year. The excellent reviews on CNN, The Guardian and La Stampa are also confirmation of this.
Perhaps Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem is another mystery Falzon will never solve. But if he does not like this event he should do himself a favour and stay away from Għajnsielem during the month of December. But please do not try to be the modern adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Scrooge!