We welcome the month of May, a month holding a great tradition linked to the Feast of Our Lady of the Lily in Mqabba. In the statute of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, founded in 1772, it is documented that the Feast of Our Lady of the Lily was to be celebrated in May. This continued until the mid-1980s, when the permission to move the Feast to June was granted.
The March “Mayflower”, composed by the Honorary Band Master and Former President of the Our Lady of the Lily Musical Society, Mro Julio Tanti is still popular and synonymous with the celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of the Lily:-
Viva x-xahar maħbub tà Mejju
Żejjen l-art, libbes il-ġonna
Ward ilewwen żiffa tfewwaħ
Xahar li jixraq lill-Madonna.
Fost il-fjuri jiddi l-Ġilju
Simbolu sħiħ tal-purità
Dawka l-anġli bil-girlanda
Żejjnu l-Omm tal-Purità
Dawka l-anġli bil-girlanda
Żejjnu l-Omm tal-Purità.
Ċerimonja baqgħet dejjem
Fost iż–żgħar b’ħeġġa titrabba
Jum li fih baqà jitnissel
L-entużjażmu ġol-Imqabba.
Inkantaw mal-Banda Lily
Innijiet tà versi sbieħ
Lill-Madonna minn Tal-Ġilju
Vera Festa f’jum ferrieħ
Lill-Madonna minn Tal-Ġilju
Vera Festa f’jum ferrieħ!
