Celebrations at St Julian's

The old St Julian's church dressed up for the festa this week

This week, my hometown of St Julian’s in Malta celebrates the feast of its titular saint with a week long calendar of religious functions, celebrations and activities. These include Masses every evening with a particular theme, and groups of people invited for each, children, the youth, members of various organizations, the elderly, newly-married and the newly-baptized. 

The main square at St Julian's with colorful banners

Marching bands add to the festivities, as well as fireworks and lots of colorful decorations along the streets. The predominant colors are black, yellow and red, the colors of the Belgian flag, since St Julian was from Belgium. Other decorations include outdoor statues, although the most prominent statue is carried through the streets only on Sunday evening. But more about this tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy these photos that give you a hint of what is going on there this weekend.

Colorful banner hanging next to the house where I grew up