'The islands were just a few bread loaves short of starvation and surrender and the arrival of the Santa Marija convoy was one of the turning points in Malta's recent history.'
One of the most prominent dates on the Catholic calendar -bar Christmas and Holy Week is August 15, the feast of Santa Marija. In essence, the feast day is a religious one but it is attended by activities both sacred and profane.
From the first day of August through to the day itself, devotees of Santa Marija whisper their quindicina, two weeks worth of daily prayers dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. The biggest religious celebration takes place in Mosta, to the traditional accompaniment of fireworks, petards and band marches. The flipside of the religious celebration is the annual bout of hedonism. Large-scale parties -successors to the raves of the late 90's -reach fever pitch midway through August, with quasi tribal mass gatherings of the young and would- be young. Clothing is minimal, the music is loud, and the partying doesn't stop before morning.
An event still remembered but marked less by noisy celebration than by quiet recollection was the arrival of a convoy of supply ships in August 1942. The islands were just a few bread loaves short of starvation and surrender, making the arrival of the Santa Marija convoy one of the turning points in Malta's wartime history.
Grip