Good Friday traditional celebrations in the Maltese Islands feature in a five-stamp set that will be issued by the Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost on Wednesday midway through Easter Week.
This splendid set, designed by photographer Joseph P. Smith has some excellent photographic images, is offset printed by Printex Limited of Qormi on Maltese Crosses watermarked paper. The stamps, with face values of 7c, 15c, 22c, 27c and 82c, are 31.0mm X 44.0mm in size, with a perforation of 14.0 X 13.9 (comb).
Numerous religious traditions, most of them passed on from one generation to the next, are part of the Pascal celebrations in the Maltese Islands. The 40 days before Easter Sunday are a time for penance, and the older generation remember that not so many years ago, fasting on a daily basis during this period was obligatory. Rules in this respect have been relaxed considerably.
Lenten sermons, the traditional Way of the Cross, and numerous penitential pilgrimages are held during the build-up to Easter. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, a week before Good Friday, has a very special place in the heart of thousands of devotees, with the faithful walking in procession behind penitential pilgrimages in practically every town and village in Malta and Gozo.
Holy Week celebrations traditionally start on Palm Sunday and end with the triumphal Resurrection of Christ on the morning of Easter Sunday, traditionally celebrated with the statue of the Risen Christ being carried “on the trot” through the main streets to the applause of the crowds.
The 7c stamp shows a number of men, mostly barefoot and carrying a Cross, a sign of penance, walking behind the statue of Christ the Redeemer.
The Crucifixion tableau (Mosta parish, by Karlu Darmanin in 1869) includes Our Lady or Sorrows, Mary Magdalene and St John, and features on the 15c stamp.
The 22c stamp has the Burial of Christ (Mosta parish, sculpture by Antonio Agius from a design by Wistin Camilleri. Donated to the church by Karmenu Dimech).
The statue of the Risen Christ (Cospicua parish) featured on the 27c stamp is probably of Spanish origin. This wooden statue was donated by Celestino Sacco in 1741.
The 82c stamp shows the Altar of Repose in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at the Collegiate Church of St Laurence in Vittoriosa.
This set will be available from all Maltapost postal retail outlets in Malta and Gozo, and from the Mobile Unit, on 12 April as a First Day Cover, in Mint or Cancelled format, and as a Presentation Pack and Souvenir Folder. Additional information on this and forthcoming issues is obtainable from the Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost plc (telephone 2123 9153, e-mail [email protected]).