Thousands of people took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday afternoon and flocked to the various localities in Malta and Gozo for the traditional Good Friday processions. On this day Catholics around the world commemorate the passion and death of Christ during the Adoration of the Cross held at 3pm, which according to the Holy Bible is the exact time when Christ passed away.
As has become the norm, many street vendors, some of whom seem to crop up during the Holy Week and vanish again for a whole year, profited from all this, selling Apostle Bread Rings and carob sweets.
Good Friday processions are held in Rabat, Valletta, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, Żejtun, Żebbuġ, Naxxar, Qormi, Luqa, Mosta and Paola while in Gozo processions are held in Victoria (two), Nadur, Xagћra, Żebbuġ, Xewkija and Qala. In Gћargћur and Gћaxaq the processions are held on Palm Sunday so as not to coincide with the rest and possibly draw more crowds.
Another tradition on Good Friday is the Visiting of the Seven Churches in the morning for those who could not do so on Maundy Thursday. This tradition which in recent years seems to have caught up once again follows the religious function commemorating the Last Supper of Christ and the institution of the Eucharist.
Flying flags at half mast is another Good Friday tradition and in some parishes a wooden rattle is used instead of the bells as a sign of mourning. Holy Week celebrations continue this evening with the Easter Vigil and tomorrow morning with the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, which according the the Catholic Doctrine is the most important event of the year.
Various localities including some where no Good Friday processions are held, celebrate this day with pomp with a procession with the statue of the Risen Christ. The cheerful atmosphere reaches its climax at the end with the traditional run with the statue of the Risen Christ, and the blessing of the figolli.
Increase in participation, income and expenditure in 2011
According to figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO), in 2011 there was a significant increase in participation in Good Friday processions. In the year under review, 10,458 persons were involved in 21 Good Friday processions, which is an increase of 1.9% on 2010. Those actually taking part in these processions amounted to 90% while the rest numbering 1,022 were either assisting or working on the organisational aspect.
As expected, the vast majority worked on a voluntary basis. Persons who actively participated in the processions numbered 9,436, an increase of 2% when compared to 2010. The largest proportion was made up of males (84%), while 68% were in the 18-64 age bracket. On average, there were 449 participants in each procession.
The NSO also gave an overview of the financial aspect of Good Friday processions. It emerged that the total expenditure in 2011 amounted to €113,964, an average of €5,427 per procession. These meant a marked increase of 26% in the total expenditure on 2010 levels, mainly due to one-off payments made by some parishes to contractors on account of innovations to the events. Nearly 20% of expenditure was incurred in external activities, another 17% was spent on costumes, and 14% was paid out to workers and sub-contractors.
On the other hand in 2011 there was a 22% increase in the total income registered by parishes in respect of Good Friday processions, which reached €96,948. According to the NSO, 40% of donations were from participants themselves.