It is the summer season and, each weekend, a number of parishes all over Malta and Gozo are celebrating the village feast.
Over the years feasts have grown to become part of our culture. The religious part of the feasts, which is ultimately the reason for their existence, has by and large been pushed aside as feasts have become a time of merrymaking and days at the beach – the so-called xalati the day after the procession.
The religious authorities, spearheaded by the Curia, continue to insist that feasts should be a celebration of the patron saint, and that the band marches and the fireworks are only extras. But, judging by the way things have been going, the number of those who really think about the religious importance of a feast is growing smaller. The fact that many people attend the external celebrations and few go to the special feast Mass says it all.
Locality rivalry does not help. When villages have more than one feast to celebrate, or when one feast is celebrated by two or more factions at the same time, its true meaning gets lost amid the boasting of who had the better band and the most people.
No week passes by without trouble breaking up during one or more feasts. The heat of the summer and alcohol consumption make it all the more difficult for some people to control their temper, and one passing comment could trigger a fight easily.
Antagonism has frequently led to external festivities being called off by the Church. The Curia has often opted to cancel these celebrations in a bid to restore order – sometimes this happened when no agreement is reached beforehand between rival clubs or else, worse still, after disturbances.
As usual, the majority of law-abiding citizens have to suffer the consequences of the behaviour of the few hotheads. The Curia chooses this option to push towards greater unity, and very often the system works. Until the next incident…
Exercising this form of control is probably the only way the Church believes it can instill some sense in would-be perpetrators. The Curia knows that it cannot turn back time and that the way the feasts have developed will not be changed. But by being severe in circumstances that warrant it, the Curia is doing its best to put external celebrations in their perspective and, at the same time, trying to give more importance to the religious aspect of feasts.
More should be done, however, to manage the external celebrations better. For example, many young people, including underage boys and girls, are still seen drunk during band marches. Some of the girls are also dressed rather skimpily.
Older men also tend to drink one too many during the festa weekend. Foul language is the order of the day and, as said earlier, there is always a chance that a fight breaks out.
Truckloads of youths driving to or from the xalata are also a matter of concern as, often, these youngsters are not adequately protected and even a small accident could turn out to have serious consequences.
We are not saying that external festivities should be removed. Far from it. What we are saying is that there should be better control so as to avoid incidents that could spoil the feast.
Added to this, while believing that every faction has a right to exist, there should be more coordination and better cooperation between the different groups as, after all, they all stand to gain if everything goes smoothly.
Rivalry might be considered as the spice of a feast but, at the same time, it should not be the cause of an insurmountable division that gives a bad name to what is, on the whole, part of our way of life.