Here Are All The Ceremonies You Can Celebrate In Malta If You Don’t Believe In God
If you’re Maltese and don’t follow a religion, it can sometimes feel like there aren’t organisations or ceremonies that cater to your needs.
Sure, you can get a civil union in an office, but why go for something so cold and informal on your special day?
Luckily for Malta, there are now alternative options for your special ceremony – the Malta Humanist Association have three certified and active celebrants to administer ceremonies.
“If someone wants to create a certain ceremony, say a Confirmation, they can approach us and create their own ceremony depending on the meaning they’d like to give,” said Christian Colombo, a lecturer at the University of Malta and a certified celebrant.
Members of the Malta Humanist Association
The Malta Humanist Association hope to eventually begin administering for the sick in hospital, as well as prisoners, but for now offer three “off-the-shelf” ceremonies – one of which is especially popular in Malta.
“The wedding ceremony is by far the most popular,” he continues. “Many people who are divorced – as well as gay couples – do not have the opportunity to marry through the church, so the options are a short and terse legal ceremony, or the legal ceremony plus their own customised ceremony.”
With one celebrant administering 15 ceremonies in one month, it seems that Humanist-based events are becoming more and more popular in Malta.
Baby-naming ceremonies
Not the same as a baptism, but comparable, this ceremony gives parents the opportunity to declare the values they would like to raise their baby with.
Weddings
The couple is given all the freedom they need to create their own ceremony. They choose their own vows, and the celebrant will tell the story of how they met and how their relationship grew.
Couples are given the choice of how they’d like to end the ceremony – exchanging rings, lighting candles, or tying a literal knot are some of the most common choices.
Funerals
The emphasis here is on customisation. The aim is to create a meaningful ceremony for the family, where the family can articulate their feelings for the deceased.
The family can choose any music, video, speech, poem, or any other form of expression they find suitable for the ceremony. The family can also include any other meaningful aspect to celebrate the memory of their deceased loved one.
The funeral of Ramon Casha, a pioneering Maltese humanist
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