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Here’s How Much You Need To Spend To Carry A Statue In This Maltese Procession

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Santa Marija is one of Malta’s most beloved summer traditions. Eight towns all over the island celebrate the feast, and one of the main attractions is always the procession of the statue of Santa Marija herself through the streets. And this year, Mġarr raked in a whopping €14,000 in an auction for the right to carry the statue during the festa’s procession.

The auction has been a town tradition for decades. It started off in 1923 as a way to help pay off some of the defecit from the previous years festa, and has grown into a yearly tradition with families and groups vying for the honour of walking a statue of Mary through the streets.
The money goes towards fixing up the church, paying for the festa itself, and a number of charity organizations, such as the Maltese run school in Ghana.

And if you’re thinking €14,000 is a lot of money, you’re right. So much money, in fact, it’s a record-breaking sum

This isn’t the first time the winning group, headed by Wistin Vella, have gone above and beyond in this auction. In 2015 they bid at the auction with a substantial €12,000. You could buy a new car, put a down payment on a house, or backpack around the world on that. 

But Mr.Vella and his team were more than happy to donate that money to the church, and it looks like they enjoyed themselves too.

Other towns have similar auctions but none of them get anywhere near the amount that Mġarr does. Other people are still permitted to carry the statue during legs of the procession, so it’s also not something exclusive to only those who can afford it. 

Would you pay €14,000 to carry a statue during the festa?

READ NEXT: 9 Things Every Mother Does During The Festa

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