What it is

The feast of Our Lady of Graces in Zabbar, a town just south of the Three Cities, is one of the largest and most beloved village festas in Malta, celebrated in early September 2026 around the great Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces. Locally the feast Sunday is known as Hadd in-Nies - roughly "the people's Sunday" - a name that captures the sheer scale of the crowds it draws from across the island.

A Maltese festa is a multi-day celebration of a parish's patron, and Zabbar's is a grand one. The streets around the sanctuary are lit with elaborate illuminations and lined with banners and statues, the band clubs lead marches through the town, and the evenings fill with open-air concerts and Malta's famous fireworks, both ground set-pieces and aerial displays. The richly decorated sanctuary - a major pilgrimage church whose museum holds ex-voto paintings from sailors and survivors saved by the Madonna's intercession - provides a moving backdrop, and the solemn procession of the titular statue of Our Lady of Graces is the emotional heart of the celebration.

What gives the Zabbar feast its particular character is its popularity: Hadd in-Nies has long pulled in visitors from all over Malta, with the roads into town busy and the squares packed. The maritime devotion of the sanctuary, tied to the harbour communities nearby, adds a distinctive thread of seafaring history to the religious celebration.

For a visitor, it is an immersive, free, open-air spectacle and one of the best chances to see the Maltese festa tradition at full strength as summer turns to autumn. Zabbar is a short distance from the Three Cities and reachable by bus from Valletta, though the area is very busy at feast time. Expect warm, crowded, late nights, loud fireworks and a strong community atmosphere; bring water, comfortable shoes and patience for the crowds around the procession.

The exact dates and the full programme of marches, concerts, fireworks and the procession are set by the parish each year, so check the local feast programme or Visit Malta for the confirmed schedule before you travel. For travellers wanting to experience a major Maltese feast in full flow, Zabbar's Hadd in-Nies is one of the most rewarding on the calendar.

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