It’s Easter Sunday, and I am in Malta. Yesterday, we popped into the local tourist office, who said the best thing to do was to go to Vittoriosa (Birgu in Maltese), one of the Three Cities to see the running of the Jesus.
One of the Maltese traditions over the Easter period is for a group of men to carry a statue of Jesus from the local church, around their home town. This is to signify that Jesus has been resurected.The one in Vittoriosa is meant to be one of the biggest parades of Jesus, where men train for months in readiness to carry a huge statue of Jesus, and run up 9 hills with it.
We were told, the best place to witness this, was in the town square. However, as the time grew closer, it was difficult to decide where the best place to stand to take photos. There was no clear route, and then all of a sudden a lone policeman walked through the crowd, to clear a path for the statue to pass:
Once at the top of what was the first hill, they stopped for a break – drinks were passed around, before the readied themselves for the second accent.
I must admit, the speed that these guys run, is quite amazing, and I found the whole experience rather surreal.
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