In the month of March, Malta is steeped in superstition and in the pagan rites of Spring. First comes the worship (mostly by women)  of the Mother Goddess under the guise of "id-Duluri", a cult which can be traced back to the goddess Isis, "the Sorrowing Mother", and to Demeter, the Mater Dolorosa of the ancient Greeks.

Next come pseudo "last suppers", complete with fake "qaghaq tal-appostli",  and visits to "seven churches", brimming with funereal trumpery.

These are followed by "Passion" processions, consisting of kitschy statues and of hooded men, dragging chains and looking like the Maltese branch of the Ku Klax Klan.

Finally comes the "grand finale": a "resurrection" that allegedly took place 2,000 years ago and that harks back to the resurrection of the gods Tammuz, Osiris, Attis, Orpheus and Dionysus.

Long before the Maltese, the ancient Syrians hailed the resurrection of the god Tammuz with the cry "Adonis (the Lord) is risen". In ancient Egypt, the resurrection of Osiris was celebrated with gorgeous pageantry.

In Anatolia, the streets rang with exultant shouts as the people celebrated the resurrection of the god Attis. In present-day Malta, simple-minded men run along the street with a kitschy statue of the "risen" Jesus in a futile attempt to give it some motion and hopefully  to make it levitate.

While church attendance in Malta is declining and the teachings of Jesus are ignored or given only lip service, superstition and idolatry are on the rise as towns and villages try to outdo each other with gaudy spectacles and shows.

John Guillaumier

St Julian's