A popular Maltese tradition is known as ‘Il-Quċċija’ whereby a baby would choose his career on his first birthday. The idea is to place the toddler on his fours and then he would crawl towards a series of objects place next to each other in a straight line. The objects would represent various careers or occupations the child may choose in the future. Among the objects would be a hammer (carpenter, construction worker,) a pen (teacher), a dollar bill or a 5 Euro (business person,) a rosary (priest or nun,) a book (scholar, writer, journalist,) an egg (baker, chef,) stethoscope (doctor,) etc. Other modern jobs and occupations can be added. The child would then pick whatever appeals to him or her, and the parents and other relatives would applaud, as they hope and pray they would choose a respectable career. The photo shows my nephew Peter in January 1995 on his first birthday, as he chose an egg! Certainly, he did not become a baker or a chef, and I don’t believe he is much of a chef or cook, but we are all happy he became a doctor, as did his older brother Julian, who incidentally turns 30 today, his lucky birthday!
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