Holy Week is the most serious week in the Maltese year. It is observed at a scale that surprises people arriving expecting a holiday atmosphere. Almost every town takes part, and several processions carry statues that have gone through the same streets for centuries.
What happens when
Is-Seba’ Visti
People visit seven churches in one evening. Churches stay open late and people walk between them in groups. It is one of the best nights of the year to be out in a town centre.
It is open to anyone and needs no ticket or plan. Just walk.
The churches
The main processions
Life-size statues depicting the Passion, carried on shoulders through the streets, with participants in costume and bands playing funeral marches.
They are solemn rather than festive, and Good Friday is a public holiday. Stand where the street narrows and the statues pass close.
Public holidays
The mood turns completely
Statues of the Risen Christ are run through the streets at speed, sometimes uphill, by teams who have carried them all week. It is as joyful as Good Friday was solemn.
Children are given figolli, almond-filled Easter cakes cut into shapes, and the whole thing finishes over a long family lunch.
Maltese food
The week
- Palm Sunday
- Blessing of palm and olive branches, and the start of the week.
- Maundy Thursday
- Is-Seba’ Visti, the visiting of seven churches in one evening. Churches stay open late and people walk between them.
- Good Friday
- The main event. Processions of life-size statues depicting the Passion, carried on shoulders, with bands playing funeral marches. A public holiday.
- Easter Sunday
- The mood turns completely. Statues of the Risen Christ are run through the streets at speed. It is as joyful as Friday was solemn.
These are religious observances rather than performances. Cover shoulders and knees near churches, do not use flash during a procession, and follow the crowd’s lead on when to be quiet. Nobody will mind you watching.