Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The culture of Malta reflects the various influences of different countries, namely Italy and the United Kingdom, which ruled Malta until 1964. The Maltese are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and the influence of the Church is strong, with divorce and abortion still being banned by law. The use of the Italian has declined as a result of British influence and official policy, with English becoming the language of education, along with Maltese. However, television from Italy is widely watched in Malta, having been available before the country introduced its own service in the early 1960s, and since independence, closer links with the Italians, known in Maltese as taljani. Local festivals, similar to those in Italy, are commonplace, celebrating weddings, christenings and saint's days. British influences remain strong, nonetheless, as Maltese avidly follow English football matches. Traffic still drives on the left, as in the UK, and many visitors from the UK are surprised to see British cars from the 1960s and 1970s still on the road. See also: Music of Malta This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.