Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/405994
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2014 News 24 Swieqi council resists mayor's calls for Halloween activities TIM DIACONO SWIEQI mayor Noel Muscat is fac- ing resistance from Swieqi councillors over his plans to organise Halloween activities for children. "I personally don't care about Hal- loween but children enjoy it and it's growing in popularity in Swieqi," Muscat told MaltaToday. "Yet the oth- er councillors are adamant that the local council shouldn't organise Hal- loween activities, not due to religious reasons but because they are scared of the violence that might break out." Halloween will be celebrated this Fri- day, October 31 and Swieqi residents are now facing the annual problem of masked teenagers flinging eggs at their houses and cars. Yet the situation has cooled down in recent years, according to Swieqi's mayor. "While Swieqi used to be hit with several vandalism cases every Hallow- een, only three residents complained that eggs had been thrown at their houses last year," Muscat said. "We still find this unacceptable though and the police have been informed about Halloween this year." Halloween's links with the Catholic Church are obscure. It is celebrated on the eve of All Saints' Day, or All Hallows' Day, the Catholic day for honouring saints. Indeed, the word 'Halloween' was formed from 'All Hallows' Eve'. Yet it is widely agreed that the feast has its roots in fifth cen- tury Celtic Ireland where legend has it that people celebrated the day to ward off evil spirits. Irish immigrants took the celebration to the US in the 1800s. Yet the Church's position on Hallow- een is clear; the Church considers it to be a pagan festival and discourages true Catholics from participating in Halloween celebrations. The Maltese Church set up a Diocesan Commis- sion on the Occult and Satanism in 1995 following a decree by then Arch- bishop Joseph Mercieca. The Commission's secretary, Fr Mar- cello Ghirlando, said in 2005 that "par- taking in Halloween celebrations, even if on a superficial level, is still wrong because it becomes a sign of openness towards neo-pagan culture and dab- bling in the culture of the occult". Yet it is a feast that is growing in popularity in Malta, particularly in Swieqi. "The reason it's become so popular in Swieqi is because of the number of foreigners who live here," Muscat said. "As for the Maltese people, they see it as just another excuse to celebrate. I am convinced that none of them even knows what Halloween means." Teenager found dead in hotel room JOHN PISANI ISABELA Kinga Poniedzialek, an 18-year-old Polish student, was yesterday morning found dead in her hotel room in Sliema. No signs of forced entry or vio- lence were noticed and it seems the teenager died of natural causes, but at this point the police are not rul- ing out anything and will be wait- ing for the autopsy and toxicology results. It is believed that Poniedzialek, who has been in Malta for the last three weeks as an exchange student to study the catering business, was feeling sick over the last few days and was not attending lessons. Yesterday when she did not go down to the reception area when the transport showed up to pick her from the Plevna Hotel, the group leader went up to see if she was feeling better. When there was no answer at the door, the leader entered the room and was shocked to find the youngster with no sign of life. District Police, led by Inspector Jonathan Ransley and PS David Sant, were called in and started investigating. The magistrate on duty, Dr Claire Stafrace Zammit, was also informed and ordered an inquiry. The autopsy will be performed today at Mater Dei Hospital. Her family has been informed. Noel Muscat