Editing Malta (section)

===Festivals and events===
[[File:The statue of St. George issuing from the Basilica on the third Sunday of July.jpg|thumb|The statue of St. George at the ''festa'' of [[Victoria, Gozo]]|219x219px]]
Local festivals, similar to those in Southern Italy, are commonplace in Malta and Gozo, celebrating weddings, [[Baptism|christenings]] and, most prominently, [[calendar of saints|saints' days]]. On saints' days, in the morning, the ''festa'' reaches its apex with a [[Mass (liturgy)|High Mass]] featuring a sermon on the life and achievements of the patron saint. In the evening, a statue of the religious patron is taken around the local streets in solemn procession, with the faithful following in prayer. The atmosphere of religious devotion is preceded by several days of celebration and revelry: band marches, [[fireworks]], and late-night parties. The largest festa is possibly that of the [[Assumption of Mary]], which is celebrated in 8 parishes on 15 August and in 2 other parishes the following Sunday.<ref>{{cite web |title=Malta celebrates Santa Marija: A day of faith, history, and festivity |url=https://newsbook.com.mt/en/malta-celebrates-santa-marija-a-day-of-faith-history-and-festivity/ |website=Newsbook}}</ref>[[File:Saint Mary Mgarr.jpg|thumb|221x221px|The statue of [[Holy Mary|Santa Marija]] at the ''festa'' of [[Mġarr|Mġarr, Malta]]|left]] [[Maltese Carnival|Carnival]] (Maltese: ''il-karnival ta' Malta'') has had an important place on the cultural calendar after [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]] It is held during the week leading up to [[Ash Wednesday]], and typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful, ticker-tape parade of allegorical [[float (parade)|floats]] presided over by King Carnival (Maltese: ''ir-Re tal-Karnival''), marching bands and costumed revellers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 March 2017 |title=The Malta Independent on Sunday |url=https://www.pressreader.com/malta/the-malta-independent-on-sunday/20170312/282226600527054 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219090605/https://www.pressreader.com/malta/the-malta-independent-on-sunday/20170312/282226600527054 |archive-date=19 December 2019 |access-date=19 December 2019 |via=PressReader}}</ref>

[[Holy Week in Malta|Holy Week]] (Maltese: ''il-Ġimgħa Mqaddsa'') starts on [[Palm Sunday]] (''Ħadd il-Palm'') and ends on [[Easter|Easter Sunday]] (''Ħadd il-Għid'').

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[[Maltese folklore#Mnarja|Mnarja]], or l-Imnarja (pronounced ''lim-nar-ya'') is one of the most important dates on the Maltese cultural calendar. Officially, it is a national festival dedicated to the feast of [[Saint]]s [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]. Its roots can be traced back to the pagan [[Roman Republic|Roman]] feast of ''Luminaria'' (literally, "the illumination"), when torches and bonfires lit up the early summer night of 29 June.<ref>''Malta Recent Economic and Political Developments Yearbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments'' {{ISBN|978-1-433-06350-3}} p. 41</ref> The festivities still commence today with the reading of the ''"bandu"'', an official governmental announcement, which has been read on this day in Malta since the 16th century. It is said that under the Knights, this was the one day in the year when the Maltese were allowed to hunt and eat [[hare|wild rabbit]], which was otherwise reserved for the hunting pleasures of the Knights. The close connection between Mnarja and [[rabbit stew]] (Maltese: ''"fenkata"'') remains strong today.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cassar |first=Carmel |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/23890/1/FENKATA.PDF |title=Fenkata: An emblem of Maltese peasant resistance? |date=1994 |publisher=Ministry for Youth and the Arts |access-date=18 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218193705/https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/23890/1/FENKATA.PDF |archive-date=18 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Malta - ZebbugM - Good Friday 225 ies.jpg|thumb|[[Holy Week procession]] in Żebbuġ|202x202px]]Isle of MTV is a one-day music festival produced and broadcast on an annual basis by MTV. The festival has been arranged annually in Malta since 2007, with major pop artists performing each year. 2012 saw the performances of worldwide acclaimed artists [[Flo Rida]], [[Nelly Furtado]] and [[Will.i.am]]. Over 50,000 people attended, which marked the biggest attendance so far.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Isle of MTV 2012 |url=http://www.gozoandmalta.com/galleries/index.php/Isle-of-MTV-2012---Photos-by-Clint-Gerald-Attard  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708022315/http://www.gozoandmalta.com/galleries/index.php/Isle-of-MTV-2012---Photos-by-Clint-Gerald-Attard |archive-date=8 July 2012 |access-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=usurped |publisher=gozoandmalta}}</ref>

The Malta International Fireworks Festival has been arranged annually in the [[Grand Harbour]] of Valletta since 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 February 2016 |title=Top 25 Annual Events in Malta Not to Miss |work=MaltaUncovered.com |url=https://www.maltauncovered.com/things-to-do/top-events/  |access-date=4 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104192312/https://www.maltauncovered.com/things-to-do/top-events/ |archive-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>