Victory Day (Malta)
Encyclopedia
Victory Day, 8 September, is a national holiday in Malta
. It is locally known as il-Vitorja (the Victory) and il-Bambina (Baby Mary).
It marks the following events:
The day is also connected to the Nativity of Mary
, and in fact feasts are celebrated in Xagħra, Naxxar
, Senglea
, and Mellieħa on the day.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It is locally known as il-Vitorja (the Victory) and il-Bambina (Baby Mary).
It marks the following events:
- The victory of the Great SiegeSiege of Malta (1565)The Siege of Malta took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the island, then held by the Knights Hospitaller .The Knights, together with between 4-5,000 Maltese men,...
by the Knights of St. John against the Turks of 1565. - Italy surrendered during World War II in 1943, and turned against its former German allyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. - The rebellion against the FrenchFrench ConsulateThe Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
troops in Malta ended in those days in September 1800
The day is also connected to the Nativity of Mary
Nativity of Mary
The Nativity of Mary, or Birth of the Virgin and various permutations, is celebrated as a liturgical feast in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and in most Anglican liturgical calendars on 8 September, nine months after the solemnity of her Immaculate Conception, celebrated on 8 December...
, and in fact feasts are celebrated in Xagħra, Naxxar
Naxxar
Naxxar is a village in the central north of Malta, with a population of about 13,647 people . The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The feast is celebrated on September 8...
, Senglea
Senglea
Senglea is a fortified city in the east of Malta, mainly in the Grand Harbour area. It is one of the Three Cities in the east of Malta, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa. The city of Senglea is also called Civitas Invicta, because it managed to resist the Ottoman invasion at the Great...
, and Mellieħa on the day.