Quċċija, Convivium, Żerda : Maltese customs originating from religious Greek tradition

Abstract

The Modern Maltese definition of the noun quċċija, according to Aquilina’s Dictionary, is: "A ceremony consisting in the presentation of a basket containing grain, 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." Although the lexicographer’s inclusion of “grain” among the “miscellaneous articles” may have been only a convenient, apposite insertion to justify his etymology of the term from Sicilian cuccia – zuppa fatta di frumento bollito nell’acqua o nel latte con zucchero ed altri savori – citing Mortillaro’s Dizionario, it betrays the historical basis for the anachronistic “grain” ingredient. [excerpt]