Carnival

Carnival weekend in Malta has a particular meaning for me because it's where my parents met. Coming from diametrically opposite social backgrounds and both in costume it would have been highly unlikely for them to meet in any other setting. The traditional festival with mysterious origins is an opportunity for a long weekend of lively and colourful activity for both residents and tourists. The carnival parades in Valletta and the Gozo carnival in Nadur are the main focal points. In British colonial days, the Valletta carnival was the domain of the upper classes and the ruling elites while Nadur attracted the less privileged. The increasingly fashionable Nadur has gained more attention in recent years thanks to the efforts of Vicki Anne Cremona, newly appointed ambassador to France. From a paper written by Peter Paul Buttigieg about the Nadur carnival:

Revellers wearing only a sheet or bedspread, in boiler suits, in clergy or nun habits, wearing grotesque masks inspired by the current affairs, locally and internationally- all walk up and down the streets for hours on end. All covered from head to foot and no one dare stop and unmask these devils. All one hears is a confusion of the sounding of horns, ringing of bells, banging, whistling and anything, which could add to the din and create an eerie and bizarre atmosphere.

It is not uncommon to be able to watch the mimicking of a wedding ceremony, couples in beds on wheels feigning lovemaking, in exaggerated pregnancy costumes, the trailing of live animals like a sheep, a goat or a donkey, the carrying of live or dead mice in cages and others dressed up as doctors and nurses performing operations by sawing off limbs. All walk up and down arousing the curiosity of the onlookers who try to identify the real person but of course to no avail as the mask covers it all.

This spontaneous carnival at Nadur has survived the times against all odds and we can proudly say that it is the only traditional carnival celebration still held in the Maltese islands which attracts thousands of people, not only Maltese but also tourists, to enjoy the revelry that goes on.


The history of Maltese Carnival

Watch the Malta carnival live this Sunday here

Carnival diary of events from the Westin Dragonara ( they also have an excellent monthly diary for cultural events in Malta)

European Carnival links