Here, in the island of Malta, every village has a tradition to organize a village feast for a particular saint. This feast takes place once a year and it is one of the most awaited events of the year. This makes Malta a more colourful and enjoyable place to be in, especially during the summer.
The Parish of Luqa is dedicated to St. Andrew, so our feast is the feast of St. Andrew. Therefore, every first week of July, Luqa becomes a different village. All of the village people await the "festa" very eagerly, and if one visits Luqa at this time of the year, one can see the decorations being set up in every street. However, the "festa" decorations are concentrated at the Parish Square, which is the centre of our village. Here, there are 2 local band clubs, namely "Kazin tal-Banda l-Unjoni" (Union Band Club) and "Kazin tal-Banda Sant'Andrija" (St. Andrew's Band Club). These two compete for public attention and support, and both contribute towards the setting up of the decorations (see below).
The "festa" celebrations last one whole week, and they reach their climax on the first Sunday of July, when the statue of St. Andrew is brought out of the church and carried along in Luqa's streets in a procession. An excellent display of fireworks then ends the year's feast. The following day, most of Luqa's people go for a day at the beach ("xalata") with one of the two rival band clubs.
Below are some shots from Luqa's GLAMOROUS village feast. Click on any one to see a larger picture. Feel free to download anyone you like.
