Religious festas and bombs...two words that don't go together, just as much as heaven and hell!
The fireworks at night are nice because they give a gorgeous spectacle, but the kaxxa infernali is a bad tradition!
If the gelatine bombs during a festa are a tradition, that means that somebody had started it and it has in fact become a bad tradition.
I've heard people say that working bombs is a hobby, but if it is a hobby it is a very dangerous one! And being a dangerous hobby, I would suggest that they work and/or blow them up far away in a desert, not near residential areas in a densely populated country where one can hear the bombardment throughout summer.
With the excuse of tradition we are ignoring basic human rights! I ask what the reason is for exploding these petards? They are usually used in war against the enemy; therefore they have nothing to do with a religious festa!
In our island nation, we have many old houses. They sustain damage as a result of petard explosions and you hear people say that they are afraid when they are let off because the tremor and blast of the petard harms the buildings!
I hope that those that work these petards will understand that there is no pleasure in seeing children, animals and sick people scared out of their wits. The noise of the petards also harms everybody's hearing!
In my opinion all petards should stop, they are a nuisance and waste of people's money, they go up in smoke in a few minutes!
I wish there was a law that regulated the use of petards, thus taking into consideration our human rights.
It would be far better if the church were to add more music or band marches! And when the statue is leaving the church and entering the church the choir should sing the hymn of the patron saint accompanied by the tolling of bells instead of the nuisance of fireworks. I think that festas will be nicer.
Also, the feasts of village saints should, in my opinion, be celebrated in church without having the statue procession externally (I think we have too many).
Primary festas should include those dedicated to Our Lady, Christmas, Easter, Corpus Christi and so on, while other feasts should be counted as secondary.
Every year people complain about the bombs during the festas! I hope that next year the voice of the people will be heard!
Connie Vella
Sliema