MaltaSajf: The colours, smells, noise and objects that define Malta’s summer

Summer is filled with little joys. The smell of Dewfresh pink sausages as you crack open a Cisk Lager. The crunchy ftira brimming with canned tuna, capers and olive oil. The fresh breeze as you turn on the blue bladed fan, which has been in your family for what feels like generations.

No matter where you stand on the summer-winter divide, even if in secret, some seasonal traits are too good to hate. As the hotter months roll in, Malta comes alive with colour, music and food.

In recent years, this collective experience has increasingly been encapsulated by a single phrase: MaltaSajf. Used widely across social media by the younger generation, the term has become synonymous with everything that defines Maltese summer. Although the expression has its origins in a 1980s music festival, its modern meaning has evolved far beyond that event. It has become a shorthand for the sights, sounds, smells and spirit of summer in Malta.

But what makes MaltaSajf?

For many, summer begins with a trip to the beach. And no beach day is complete without the essentials: Colourful umbrellas planted in the sand, plastic chairs whose origins are only known by the patriarch of the family and cooler boxes stacked with homemade pasta salad and ftiras.

Friends and family, sometimes gather under makeshift canopies, spend the day by the sea swimming, playing card games (with that same uncle who’s always cheating) and chatting away.

As kids we also remember the dread of having to sit, snorkel in hand, as mum lathered our face and back with sunblock “because Malta’s sun is unforgiving.”

A day at the beach would not be complete without something to cool you down. If you’re thirsty, it’s always good to remember freezing your Kristal water bottle from the day before, and if you’re looking for something sweeter, keep your ears open for the ice-cream van’s jingle as it rolls up to the same spot year after year.

Ice-cream and its many varieties have also summer staples. Whether it’s the blue slush from the local gabbana, the ‘ġelat tal-magna’ with extra flake from Mr Whippy, the classic Mivvi or the ice cream with chewing gum at the end of the cone-shaped plastic container, everyone has their favourite.

Summer afternoons then bring out the Mediterranean in us. In the true spirit of slowing down, after a hearty lunch, shutters are closed, the familiar hum of the fan fills the room, and it’s time for a well-earned siesta before heading back out to enjoy the cooler evening—unless there is a heatwave.

In the evenings villages across Malta and Gozo come alive with the unmistakable atmosphere of the festa season.

The oily aroma from the fast-food trucks fills the air, while sweet treats like the famous Qubbajt taż-Żebbuġi and sugar-powdered doughnuts tempt both locals and visitors alike. High above, spectacular fireworks light up the night sky, creating breath-taking displays that have become one of, if not the, defining symbols of Maltese summer. But the annual festa for many is not just about the food, it’s about reuniting with family members, with childhood friends and the rekindling of community spirit.

Despite an increasingly secularised society, festas continue to evolve and grow year after year.

The month of August also holds a special place in every Maltese calendar, with Santa Marija week widely regarded as the peak of summer—the week everyone looks forward to. It’s a time for workplace shutdowns when festas are in full swing, beaches are at their busiest, and many families and groups of friends get together. The lull is also the perfect excuse to sit around… and do nothing.

It also marks the exodus of Maltese families and friends to Gozo, where a rented seaside apartment becomes an escape route from everyday routine. And then there is the boat trip with friends; discovering hidden coves, diving into turquoise waters, enjoying daylong lunches on the sea, and watching spectacular sunsets that make you wish summer would never end.

Of course, not everything about summer is glamorous. The stifling humid southerly winds and the mosquitos that disturb your sleep in the middle of the night were immortalised in Walter Micallef’s song Awwissu. And then there is the horrible-looking brown cockroach sitting on the pavement right in front of your apartment door as you try and stamp it out while your partner is screaming.

Ultimately, Malta Sajf is about far more than sunshine and beaches. It is a unique blend of traditions, iconic foods and drinks, village festas, family holidays, sea adventures and simple pleasures that have remained remarkably unchanged over the years.

It is the taste of an ice cream melting too quickly in the heat, the excitement of fireworks echoing across the islands, the comfort of sitting beneath colourful umbrellas, the peaceful afternoon siesta, and the joy of making memories with the people who matter most.

Malta Sajf is a season for living.