A seven-storey Christmas tree erected in Valletta’s entrance has drawn sharp criticism, with critics calling it “ugly” and comparing its decorations to Malta’s construction boom.
But Jason Micallef, the chairman of the Valletta Cultural Agency, has defended the tree decorations and lashed out at critics, accusing them of wanting to disrupt Christmas in the capital.
Decorated with miniature white streetlight lanterns, colourful wooden window shutters, and a small door and balcony featuring the Maltese cross, the tree was unveiled as part of the 'Christmas in the Capital' programme.
But the structure outside the parliament sparked a social media backlash with many deriding its design.
“Must a (Christmas) tree also be transformed into a building,” former Valletta mayor and PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier wrote on Facebook.
He also called out the irony of the tree being placed in front of the banner bearing the name of the construction collapse victim Jean Paul Sofia.
The Facebook group 'Belt Valletta' described the Christmas tree as a block of apartments.
“In the heart of the capital, in the most public space we have in Malta, we celebrate... the sponsors,” the group wrote, reflecting on the banners for TEC events.
Andre Pizzuto, president of the Kamra tal-Periti, also shared the picture of the Christmas tree with the simple caption: “Merry Construction."
Some critics humorously suggested replacing the tree’s star with a crane, dubbing it “Malta’s true symbol”.
“Are people paid to come up with these ridiculous ideas? A modern take on a tree house perhaps,” another commented.
“For Christmas time, at the entrance of the capital, they installed a monument of greed,” Robert Aquilina, former president of rule of law NGO Repubblika, wrote on Facebook.
“Obsession with construction. They even converted a Christmas tree into a building!”
"I'm all for patriotism, but I don't know what a Maltese balcony has to do with Christmas. Awful, from top to bottom," another commented.
'A personal campaign to disrupt Christmas'
Speaking to Times of Malta, Micallef dismissed the outrage as politically motivated by Repubblika activists.
He emphasised that the tree’s design honours Maltese traditions which are on the brink of being lost.
He said the Maltese street lanterns were inspired by a poem by Maltese poet Anton Buttigieg and slammed the criticism that the decorations symbolise construction.
“There is nothing wrong with these decorations, and I am not celebrating construction at all. People are mocking the work the agency does.”
“This is a personal campaign to disturb Christmas,” he stressed.