Day 3
Tuesday, 29th June

Free morning where many took the opportunity to visit the nearby Sicilian market or spot the traditional “bread cart” being pushed across the streets of the town. The cart is a special hand painted pushcart that is used to collect the “cudduri” – donut shaped breads with snake decorations – which are offered by the faithful and then, after being blessed in the church, sold at the highest bidders. The famous: “a sciuta” (the exit) of the relics and the statue of St. Paul from the church started at 1.00pm . Outside the church the sound of bells ringing, the music of the band, the shouts of the bearers and of the faithful, the firecrackers, the throwing of thousands of pieces of paper with “Viva S. Paolo” written on and of long stripes of coloured paper, called “nzareddi”, welcome the procession. In a moment the imposing Baroque façade of the church, which has been decorated since the morning with hundreds of fire crackers and light guns shooting papers, the guns firing, a huge cloud of smoke and by the thousands of “nzareddi” that fall down, wriggling like snakes, over the crowd. After several fireworks, the relic of St. Paul is carried along some of the streets of the oldest part of the town. It was simply a unique experience for many! In the afternoon, representatives from the St Joseph Band Committee and the Ghajnsielem local council exchanged gift with the St Paul's feast delegation. At 10.00pm, the St Joseph Band hosted a musical program in the main square. The evening ended with another spectacular fireworks show.