The traditional Baby Jesus procession on Christmas Eve, launched more than a century ago by St Ġorġ Preca, founder of the Catholic catechism society MUSEUM, is again being cancelled owing to COVID-19 restrictions.
So long as all public manifestations, religious or profane, were prohibited, there was nothing to justify any challenge to such an order by the health authorities but now that hundreds may participate in fun runs, soccer stadia are open to the public and other profane public manifestations are allowed, why are the local health authorities being so intransigent with regard to a religious procession, which is part of Maltese Christmas traditions?
The traditional religious activity consists of a statuette of Baby Jesus lying in a small manger being carried outdoors, shoulder high, by young boys and followed by a small crowd of adults and youngsters, with, sometimes, a small band playing Christmas hymns and songs.
Certainly, such activity is much less dangerous, as far as infections and contagion go, than attending a football match or running with hundreds of others.
By no stretch of the imagination can it be defined as a mass event, which is defined by the World Health Organisation as follows: “an event counts as a ‘mass gathering’ if the number of people it brings together is so large that it has the potential to strain the planning and response resources of the health system in the community where it takes place”.
The current intransigence reminds me of what happened 2,000 years ago, when our Creator was born in a stable, “for there was no place in the inn”. Have we become so hardened in our spirit and attitude that we cannot allow such processions to proceed in the various towns and villages, with all necessary health precautions being taken?
In Malta, thankfully, there have been no mass protests against vaccinations and green passes. The people of this country have accepted the recommendations and orders of the health authorities; they have voluntarily taken the first, second and third doses of vaccines. They have endured lockdowns, social distancing, temperature control, the wearing of masks and hand sanitising.
Is it necessary to also prohibit this holy tradition?
Surely Charmaine Gauci, who, I believe, is a reasonable person, can find a solution to this problem- Tonio Borg
Fr Mario Mangion, archpriest of Qormi, was right in voicing his concern regarding this apparent discrimination against religious public activities. As Archbishop Charles Scicluna lamented last Good Friday: “Everyone is tired.”
Why impose this unnecessary burden? One can require the organisers to ensure limited attendance, the use of masks, the possession of a green pass and maintenance of social distancing.
A Christmas procession with Baby Jesus is not a mass gathering of revelling and dancing or of repeated body contact. Surely Charmaine Gauci, as superintendent of public health, who, I believe, is a reasonable person, can find a solution to this problem while protecting the public from the spread of the disease.
Hundreds will gather in our main cities and towns to do their Christmas shopping. There will not be hundreds participating in any Christmas Eve procession; these processions are not held on a national but on a parochial level. They are held in every town and village in small gatherings.
In the United States, Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert, told performing arts professionals last January that he believed that theatres and other venues could reopen depending on the vaccination roll-out and suggested that audiences might still be required to wear masks for some time.
Gauci should follow suit. If theatre audiences in closed environments are to be permitted, why not an open-air religious celebration?
May we hear during the festive season the Maltese traditional songs of Christmas, particularly Ninni la tibkix iżjed (Hush: cry no more).
In these unusual times, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a proper reflection of the spiritual significance of Christmas, namely the incarnation of God in the form of a baby in a manger, should be encouraged rather than stifled.