A reminder that for the special weekend of the ‘Free Travel to Gozo Weekend,’ which is scheduled from the 15th till the 17th of November, the Culture and Information Office within the Ministry for Gozo has organised a full day of family activites at the Cittadella on Sunday.

The primary theme is … “Gewz, lewz, qastan , tin… kemm inhobbu lil San Martin.”

The programme which has been prepared to target all age groups, particularly children, will include among others, traditional children’s games, photo shots with San Martin, opening of museums with reduced prices and drama.

The mark the event, Heritage Malta will be opening four Cittadella museums, (mainly the Archeology, Folklore, Natural History Museum and the Old Prision) for a special entrance fee of €3.00, instead of the normal price of €8.00.

The programme will get underway at 9.00am, with stands selling local produce, which are typically Gozitan, including sweets of San Martin, the sale of San Martin’s bags, a typical traditional breakfast with cheese pies, cheese bread, San Martin’s bread, honey rings and special spiced coffee.

The programme continues from around 10.00am, with children’s drama, related to the legends and traditions of San Martin, with the participation of Nadur School of Drama in the Performance Area of the Citadella Centre for the Culture and Arts.

A lecture themed ‘Gozo during the World Wars,’ by Charles Bezzina, is taking place at the Cittadella War Shelters, and animations of traditional old games for children will take place at St John’s demi-bastion.

The evening will come to an end with Donizetti’s Opera ‘Maria Stuarda’ projected on the big screen.

In Maltese culture, St Martin’s feast is celebrated on the Sunday closest to the 11th November, in the village of Bahrija, where an annual fair and small procession takes place.

It occurs at a time when walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and dried figs are found aplenty in Malta, and hence the saying “hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, figs – oh how I love St Martin.”

St Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier, who was converted to Christianity in his adulthood following a dream which he had after helping out a poor man on the street.

There are many traditional recipes related to the feast with the “Torta ta San Martin” (St Martin’s Tart) and “Il-Borza ta’ San Martin” (St Martin’s Bag), being the most common. All recipes feature a mixture of figs, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and oranges. The “Borza ta San Martin” was and is still very popular with children as they receive a bag full of the assorted nuts (still in their shells), fruits which include oranges, tangerines and pomegranates and sweets.

The bags were also decorated for the occasion, and the larger and fuller they were was a reflection of wealth by the giver.

For more information on any of the day’s events please contact the Culture Office on 22156700 or email info@gozoculture.com.

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