Summer Is On The Way

The good news is that we have now put our clocks forward to enjoy some extra daylight, but as always, you can rely on me to bring the tone down.

Picture of the Month

There are certain;ly some unusual names for childrens sweets in Malta.

I’m Puzzled

I recently bought some long nose pliers and was reading the instructions on the back of the packaging, but what puzzled me were the words ‘Do not hit head with a hammer’. If referring to the pliers, what or where is the head?

Also can you tell me what the difference is between partly cloudy and partly sunny?

The A to Z of Malta

Kalkara

This is a small town with a population of around 3,000 people. It is located in the Eastern part of Malta and looks over the Grand Harbour. The town gets its name from the Calce, which means lime in Italian, since there was a lime kiln present there during the Roman times. Kalkara has two bays leading to the Grand Harbour known as Rinella Bay and Kalkara Creek and two peninsulas called Bighi and Ricasoli.

Historians believe that the Kalkara area was was the first to be inhabited when the first people came to Malta from Sicily. The inlets seem to provide adequate shelter from the heavy storms that can occur from the Mediterranean Sea. Kalkara is also known for boat building, and the locals participate actively in the traditional boat races, known as the regattas, by building their own boats.

Kirkop

Kirkop is a small village in the south of Malta, with a population of approximately 2600 people. Its name is thought to have originated from the surname Percopo, belonging to a family that lived in or had a connection to the then “hamlet” of Kirkop. The name is also thought to have originated from a member from the court of the King of Sicily who visited Malta at some point and had a summer residence in Kirkop. Kirkop’s motto is “Parva non Ivers”, which means ‘small but not idle’.

With fields full of onions and potatoes, the village was renowned for its agriculture. Today, you can only find part time farmers as the amount of land has reduced greatly. The reason for this is that because the village lies so close to the airport, some has been lost to the enlargement of the airport runway, quarrying for resources and housing.

Religious feasts are well celebrated in Kirkop. During the feast days of Saint Leonard and Saint Joseph, the village is transformed by artistic decorations and festive dress. The feast of St. Joseph is celebrated on the second Sunday in July and the feast of St. Leonard is celebrated on the first Sunday following St. Mary’s feast, which is celebrated on the 15th August.

Lija (pronounced Lee-ah)

Lija is a small village in central Malta, with a population of around 3,000 people. It forms part of the Three Villages, together with Balzan and Attard, all three having large country residences that witnessed great historical events.

Lija already existed during pre-historic times. In fact, megalithic tombs were excavated in 1967, but the actual establishment of Lija happened in the late 16th century, when it was elevated to a parochial status.

The centre of the town is an urban conservation area, meaning that any development within this area has to ensure that the existing character is retained. Any structural works have to keep to the traditional and historical features that include wooden balconies, iron railings and carved stone.

Luqa (pronounced Loo-ah)

The village of Luqa became a separate parish in 1634 by a decree given by Pope Urban VIII. The day was the 15th of May which is still the day when the village celebrates each year.

In 1592 the village was hit by the Bubonic plague which devastated Europe and the Maltese Islands as well. A cemetery where the people who died from the plague is still found in Carmel Street Alley 4. Another sad episode was the cholera epidemic of 1850 which was the last epidemic to hit the islands.

Luqa gained more popularity in the 20th century when the British started plans to build an airport. Surrounding the airport there were also civil service buildings and most of them still exist today. The airport was also a reason why most of Luqa was bombarded and demolished during the Second World War. It is known that there are about 19 public shelters in the village excluding the private ones. The villagers still recount the sad episode of 9th April 1942, when a bomb fell on the Parish Church and it was demolished. Another tragic episode during the Second World War was when a bomb fell into a well and there was a shelter near it and water burst in the shelter and everyone drowned.

Being the largest airfield in Malta the airport of Luqa still kept its use after the Second World War after the British left Malta and was transformed in a civilian airport which still retains its function today. The new terminal was inaugurated in 1992 and from that time, Malta International Airport has continued to expand to include new destinations and provide service for other airlines.

The Archbishop of Malta

This is an extract from an interview carried out by the Times of Malta newspaper and is (Copyright © 2024 Times of Malta. All rights reserved)

The Archbishop of Malta is Charles Scicluna, and he often tears up during mass. He says it has been happening to him for quite some time but since television cameras were put into churches during the pandemic to film his masses, he could sometimes be heard and seen quietly tearing up, his voice breaking, and the camera close-ups give it away even more.

“I’m not necessarily sad or worried. Sometimes they’re tears of joy after I’ve seen two young people in love or when I think about God’s mercy. I get emotional,” he said, his eyes tearing up as he described it.

He does have things to worry about though. He has a declining number of young men willing to become priests and a growing population – a fifth of which only understands English.

“There is a remarkable Catholic community of foreigners in Malta and we aren’t yet equipped enough to cater for them,” he said.

“We must improve to provide spiritual services in a language they can understand, because as it stands, they come to mass and don’t understand a word.”

The declining Maltese birth rate does not help mitigate the lack of clergy issue, he said, and he cannot simply bring over foreign priests, like other employers do when they are short staffed.

While the declining number of churchgoers is far from ideal, it is not the issue that concerns Scicluna the most. Church attendance is still far higher than other countries and going to mass on Sunday is just a partial measure of a good Christian life, he said.

The last census carried out in 2017 revealed 36 per cent of Maltese still went to Sunday mass.

There has not been another one since and Scicluna said the pandemic might have affected those numbers, although parishes reported they had higher than usual church attendance during the Christmas masses.

“What is interesting is the study also reveals 70 per cent said they go to mass once a month,” he said. “What is more concerning than church attendance, however, is whether or not we’re living according to Christian values.”