How Malta embraced Halloween

When Francesca Scerri first began organising Halloween events, her parties were “very small”, with the holiday still relatively unfamiliar to Malta.

But 12 years on, her business, Afterglow Events, is planning an event in Naxxar’s Villa Arrigo for around 500 people, and a quick scan of Facebook’s events pages shows the competition is high.

Pembroke

Once a largely foreign phenomenon, Halloween in Malta has rapidly transformed from a niche celebration to a mainstream community tradition.

Sociologists and event organisers alike say the spooky holiday’s spread in Malta over the last few years taps into something more than costumes, candy and commercialisation.

Families with children seem to be among the ones fuelling the interest in the holiday

Professor Valerie Visanich from the University of Malta’s Department of Sociology explains Halloween’s appeal.

“Halloween functions as a cultural spectacle, with house decorations and costumes offering individuals opportunities for self-expression in a largely light-hearted context,” she says.

Naxxar

And while the holiday’s commercial side – seen in the rise of costume shops and themed events – is hard to miss, Halloween has also become a way for neighbourhoods to connect.

“Halloween traditions, particularly trick-or-treating, help foster neighbourhood connections by encouraging resident interaction.

"These activities contribute to bringing communities together through shared participation in the holiday’s rituals,” she said.

Community

This is exactly what has been going on in a part of Żabbar known as Il-Biċċieni, where the Halloween Lantern Festival has drawn in locals since its launch in 2019.

Vincent Caruana Gauci says the festival began as a form of regeneration for the area, in connection with MMG Promotions ‒ a branch of Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ Żabbar.

It is supported by both the local council and the Malta Tourism Authority.

Zabbar. Photos courtesy of MMG Promotions

The festival was a success from the start, with attendance soaring from 1,000 in its first year to over 4,000 in 2022.

“It’s great to see people from the area involved in decorating and helping.

"The event, which is very family-oriented, has really created a sense of community,” Caruana Gauci says.

Families with children seem to be among the ones fuelling the interest in the holiday.

While Halloween is a well-established tradition in northern Europe, the United Kingdom and the US, it is a relatively recent phenomenon in Malta.

Children trick-or-treating

As the world, including Malta, became more globalised, this led to the sharing of trends and traditions.

The western influence has led to new shared activities, such as pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating, which were unheard of until a few years ago.

Charmain Galea, from Bemania, in Mosta, that offers party supplies, says Halloween has grown so popular that the company now dedicates an entire shop to it at this time of year.

“We have seen an increase in younger people coming to buy costumes.

"But also in people coming to buy decorations for their homes, with some going all out for Halloween as they do with Christmas,” she said.

Symbolism

And speaking about Christmas and the Church, while some people have connected Halloween to earlier pagan celebrations of the new year, the Vatican insists that Halloween actually has significant Catholic roots.

The name itself comes from All Hallow’s Eve, that is, the Vigil of All Saints’ Day.

Swieqi

San Gwann

Last week, the Gozo diocese called on parishioners not to take part in activities associated with Halloween and to celebrate the saints instead.

“Instead of decorating with skeletons, pumpkins, bats and other symbols of death, we encourage people to decorate windows by illuminating them with statues of our patron saints and parish emblems,” Gozo bishop Anton Teuma said.

Visanich said that this approach suggests an effort by the Church to reframe the symbolism associated with Halloween, accentuating values more closely associated with religious tradition.

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