Preparation starts months in advance. Volunteers from the village ('il-partitarji') climb ladders and set up giant decorated arches in the streets. Strings of coloured bulbs are hung from house to house. By festa weekend, an ordinary village square looks like the inside of a fairground.
Maltese brass bands ('baned') march through the streets playing as the village walks behind them. The music is loud and joyful. Each band has its own uniform, its own songs, and fierce friendly rivalry with the band from the next village over.
Then there are the fireworks. Maltese villages take fireworks very seriously - each one tries to outdo its neighbour with bigger, brighter, more clever displays. There are even competitions for the best 'ground fireworks' - spinning wheels and waterfalls of sparks on tall scaffolds.
Food stalls line the streets selling Maltese nougat (called 'qubbajt'), warm pastizzi, ice cream and roasted nuts. Children stay up late, families sit out on plastic chairs in the street, and the celebrations go on past midnight. The next morning, the village wakes up and starts cleaning - until next year.