My grand daughter turned one and as tradition dictates on this first birthday you have to have "Il-quċċija". I discovered that the word "quċċija" probably was derived from the Sicilian word "coccia" but in the 1600s had an altogether different meaning. Back then it was a type of food and some scholars link the food to a funereal rite. Whatever the origin during the 1800's il-quċċija became, "A ceremony consisting in the presentation of toys and
other miscellaneous articles, to a child on the completion of its first year, in order
to be able to foretell its future inclinations by the choice it may make." It is said that our forefathers used to take this ceremony very seriously especially if they thought that the child's choice would land it into trouble in the future. Now how would they know that?
Today we do it more for the fun of it.
