Nadur is celebrating the liturgical Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul today and this morning the popular band marches took place around the streets of the village, with the Santa Elena Band of Birkirkara and the San Gejtanu Band of Hamrun.

This evening the procession with the statue of the saints will arrive back at the at Nadur Basilica at around 10.45pm.This feast marks an important event in the calendar of Maltese popular customs and traditions. It is a country harvest and folk festival as well as a religious holiday. It dates back even further than the arrival of the Knights of St John in 1530.

The festival is named L-Imnarja, a corruption of the Italian ‘Luminara’ and means festival of light. It is named after the bonfires that used to light up the festivities in the towns of Mdina and Rabat.

Photographs of this morning’s band marches by Alain Salvary

Permalink: Nadur celebrates the liturgical Feast of St Peter and St Paul