|
Date |
Holiday |
Details |
|
1st January |
New Years Day |
Many celebrate the coming of the New
Year on its eve and the following day by
attending parties and meeting with
family and friends |
|
10th February |
St Paul Shipwreck |
The feast commemorates the
shipwreck of St.Paul in Malta in 60 A.D.
This event is
documented in the Acts of the
Apostles:27,28. The
shipwreck is believed to have
taken place at St Paul's Bay. |
|
19th March |
St Joseph |
The feast celebrates
St Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of
Christ |
|
31st March |
Freedom Day |
A commemorative
ceremony is held at the War Memorial at
Floriana. During the afternoon,
traditional regatta boat races are held
in Grand Harbour on
Malta. |
|
March/April (date changes) |
Good Friday |
In
Maltese Good Friday
is known as `Il-Gimgha l-Kbira',
or `the most important Friday of the
year', Good Friday is a day of mourning.
All places of of entertainment
and offices are closed. Pageants are
held during the afternoon in Valletta
and most main towns and villages
and in Victoria Gozo.
|
|
1st May |
Labour Day |
Labour Day or
Worker's day is also celebrated as the
feast of St Joseph the Worker,
Patron Saint of workers, St
Joseph is one of the most revered saints
in the Christian world. |
|
7th June |
Sette Giugno |
'Sette Giugno',
is a National Holiday and a
Public Holiday which
commemorates 1919 riots in
Valletta in which four Maltese men were
shot and killed by British troops. On
this day the National Assembly was
founded, and a formal request for
self-government was made. |
|
29th June |
St Peter & St Paul
(L'Imnarja) |
The feast of Saints
Peter and Paul are
an important event in the
Maltese
calendar.
It is the
largest traditional summer
festivity and held as a country harvest
and folk festival as well as a religious
holiday. The festival
is named L’Imnarja, a corruption of the
Italian ‘Luminara’ and means festival of
light. It is named after the
bonfires that used to light up the
festivities in the town of Rabat. |
|
15th August
|
The Assumption (Santa
Marija) |
The feast of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, is
also known as Santa Marija, and
is a public holiday. |
|
8th September |
Our Lady of Victories |
This day is a
special public holiday because it
commemorates three events.
It is the religious feast celebrating
the birth of the Holy Virgin, Maria
Bambina; it is the day on which the
Great Siege of 1565 ended; and it also
the day on which the Italian navy
capitulated to the British at the
beginning of the end of the Second World
War. |
|
21st September |
Independence Day |
This public holiday
commemorates the attainment of
independence from Britain in 1964. |
|
8th December |
Immaculate Conception |
In the Roman Catholic
Calendar this day is celebrated
as a Holy
Day of
obligation, commemorating the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. |
|
13th December
|
Republic Day |
Malta became a
Republic in 1974 by resolution of the
House of Representatives.
On this day the
first Maltese President became Head of
State. |
|
25th December
|
Christmas Day |
Main day of
celebration during this festive season. |
