On 19 March, we went to Rabat to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph. Rabat is a city that grew around Mdina, the old capital of Malta. Rabat means knot, or tied together in Arabic, so in this case Rabat means suburb of Mdina (here’s your quiz: there is another city in Malta called Rabat – where is it? You have to look at a previous post to find the answer!). The Feast of St. Joseph is a national holiday so people from around the island come to celebrate. It was such a festive atmosphere -it reminded me of Nordic Fest only more people, fewer blondes and better weather. People spent all day eating, drinking, following the band, meeting up with friends, hanging out with family and generally having a great time. We had a great time too! 🙂
We wandered the streets of Rabat when we first arrived to get a sense of the celebration. We could tell the band had walked around once already since there was shredded paper all over the street. Like the festival in Valletta, people throw paper off their balconies when the band marches by.
Flags, banners and lights were hung up all along the main street as well as many side streets.
Everything is so colorful!
St. Joseph’s Church, the hub of the celebration.
We found a park, of course.
We also explored Mdina, the old capital. The city has a giant wall all around it that would definitely deter me if I were coming to attack. 🙂
Walking through the front gates into Mdina.
I love all the limestone! Mdina is a lovely little city – very medieval feeling with narrow streets, churches and fancy houses.
Apparently, many wealthy people live in Mdina and some of the homes have been in the families for generations. I love the purple!
I’m always surprised to see the sea from other parts of the island. You can see Sliema in the middle of the horizon with the tall buildings.
We skipped this vendor – we were looking for something more Maltese-ish to eat.
We went back to St. Joseph’s in the evening to watch the procession. We watched some of the church service and then waited outside the church to watch the procession. We waited quite a while, but we were happy to have a good spot – there were loads of people all trying to catch a glimpse of the statue.
St. Joseph. It was Sylvia and Lily who pointed out that this is the Joseph that raised Jesus. I just figured it was some random saint, but the girls recognized the baby as Jesus. Makes sense!
There he goes…8 men carry the statue around the streets with people cheering and singing as the statue goes by. It was really quite a sight.
It was so crazy trying to leave. I don’t think I’ve ever been that crowded. It was like Walmart on Black Friday. I kept asking Lily if she could breath! At least Jon and I were taller than most everyone around us so we could see each other through the crowd. We stopped to let the crowd dissipate and had a delicious supper at a cafe.
SylLy Acres 
March 26, 2014 at 1:09 am
What an experience. Isn’t it just amazing! I wish I had photos of the festival I attended in a village church, but this helps me confirm that it really was ornate and impressive.
I recognize the gate to Mdina. There was a funny little man just there who came over to us and flashing a button under his coat that said “tour guide.” He wanted us to hire him, but we didn’t. I remember visiting lacemakers in that city, and buying some lovely pieces, which I still have. I’ll show them to you when you get back.
March 27, 2014 at 3:08 pm
Hi Rachel! Your pictures are great and I’m glad everyone’s having a good time! Did you know that the Cathedral in St. Paul is modeled after St. Peter’s in Rome? I loved those pictures – what an amazing structure and how powerful the influence of the Lord is. – Take care, Michelle