It’s hot, no one is in town, the shops are closed and continuous blasts can be heard in the distance… No you’re not in the Wild West but in Malta on 15 August, feast of Santa Marija.

It’s the day when the Maltese summer reaches its apex; people are on vacation, most work places are on shutdown, shops do not only close for the day but for the week, and sometimes for a fortnight.

So where has everybody gone? On holiday obviously. It is at this time of the year, with weather that discourages even the most industrious of workers, that most people take their summer holiday. And what better place than a quiet island which is only a stone’s throw away? Well, it is quiet until the Maltese get there.

It has been a long custom for the Maltese to spend Santa Marija in Gozo. In fact, the festivity has been linked with a mass exodus, which is considered as the peak of internal tourism for Gozitan restaurant owners, hoteliers, shopkeepers and accommodation providers.

Youngsters, depending on their number and budget, usually rent a flat or farmhouse and party all week, only to take a break and party at Gozo’s notorious clubs and swim in the blue seas, sometimes with the second activity immediately following the first from the night before. Hangovers are most often a guarantee.

On the other hand, families tend to opt for a more peaceful holiday with educational itineraries for the children, such as visits to the Ggantija Temples and to Ninu’s and Xerri’s Grottos to observe fascinating stalactites and stalagmites. Other popular attractions are Kola’s Windmill, the Toy Museum, Calypso’s Cave, the Citadel as well as the Victoria market. All this coupled with relaxing nights out at Marsalforn or Xlendi, a visit to Victoria for the Santa Marija celebrations and most importantly, long swimming sessions at Gozo’s beautiful beaches.

There are also those who opt for a holiday abroad or else are taken up in the Santa Marija festivities in Attard, Ghaxaq, Gudja, Mosta, Mqabba and Qrendi. The feast is celebrated also in a much smaller scale at Birkirkara’s newest parish. Dingli and Mgarr, Malta celebrate the feast on Sunday, as does Zebbug in Gozo.

This very old Maltese festivity is deeply ingrained in the country’s Catholic roots. In fact, Birmiftuh (Gudja) was one of the first 10 parishes mentioned in a 1436 document dedicated to the Assumption.

In 1848, Bishop Publius dei Conti Sant declared Mary Assumed in Heaven “patroness of Malta and first among titular saints”.

Also, more than one seventh of Malta’s parishes are dedicated to the Assumption of Our Lady, with Gozo having two, one of which is its cathedral.

Santa Marija grew closer to the hearts of the Maltese in 1942 as the tanker SS Ohio was towed into Grand Harbour on 15 August that year, with much needed provisions for a starving and beleaguered people who were under siege in the most bombed place on earth.