Maltese Wedding Traditions
Canada hosts many races of people among them are the Maltese. These people from the republic of Malta reside in Canada because of migration that took place in the mid-nineteenth century when Malta was a British colony. The Maltese still maintain their traditions in most of their occasions and behaviour. They refer to their customs as il-ġilwa. Among these occasions are the Maltese weddings, which take place as the do in Malta. These preserve Maltese culture in the cuisines that are offered, the dressing, the entertainment and the language. Though these Maltese live in a Canadian community, they practice most of the Maltese culture. Most of the Maltese cuisines are prepared the Mediterranean way like the food that is prepared for weddings in Malta.
The wedding procession in a Maltese wedding is led by the bride and groom followed by the rest of the bridal party consisting of the bride’s relatives and the singers behind them. The procession moves from the bride’s home to the church where the religious part of the wedding takes part. Most of the Maltese are Catholics thus the wedding takes place at the parish church. The bride and groom walk under a special ornate canopy that is carried by four men each holding one corner of the square canopy. The bride wears a wedding gown that is called a għonnella, which is the traditional wedding gown that the bride wears. Those who hold tightly to tradition practice this culture. Some of the Maltese people prefer conducting a wedding ceremony at the church without the additional spicing up of a traditional wedding gown and the canopy.
The Canadian Maltese weddings are characterized by a ceremony at the chapel, which is later followed up by an extensive wedding reception with variety of food, a motorcade of the bridal party that consists of flashy cars like limousines and beautifully designed wedding reception venues like at hotels. They have a wedding DJ who plays the Maltese music but also blends with some of the modern Canadian wedding music. The Maltese music is called għana and it involves dancing.
There has been a decrease in the application of the Maltese culture mostly by the Canadian Maltese because as much as they would like to preserve the tradition, the process comes along with high cost. Since most of the people are inclined to having an exceptional occasion without spending a lot, most of the Maltese prefer having a Canadian wedding and incorporating only what is available that matches the weddings in Malta. This is a good way of appreciating the Maltese tradition and most of the older Maltese residents in Canada insist on their families applying the Maltese culture to avoid its disappearance. This includes the older Maltese suggesting Malta as a honeymoon destination for the newly weds. This ensures that the couple learns more of the Maltese culture like methods of cooking, important beliefs and religious practices in addition to touring beautiful sites that are found in Malta. Through this, Maltese wedding traditions are preserved.
