Vasilopita is a Greek custom that takes place on New Years Eve. It is a cake full of flavor, that inside it we have put a coin. At the first of January every year, families gather around the feast table, and the host, cuts the cake in pieces, one for each person. Whoever gets the Lucky Coin in his/gets piece, means a great and prosperous year for him/her!
The custom originates from Caesarea of Cappadocia and Its Bishop St Basil the Great at around 352 AD. A tyrant asked for all the treasures of Caesarea or else he would conquered the city bringing only blood and death. Bishop told him that the people was poor but that didn’t stop the tyrant and he entered the city. The people who loved their bishop, gathered whatever gold could find and gave it to him, so to offer it to tyrant.
At the time of the attack, St Basil gave the tyrant a chest with the gathered gold to him. But when he greedily opened the chest, there was a glow followed by a horseman (St Mercurius) and a brilliant army of God’s angels! The miraculous army, eliminated the tyrant’s army. The city was saved.
St Basil wanted to give back the gold to the nice citizens but it was difficult to find out who gave which gold. So he asked for help to bake a lot of buns and he put one gold in each of the bun. After that he distributed them to everyone in the city!
And so this custom still exists in orthodox houses. St Basil is the orthodox Santa Claus who every New Year’s Day, he leaves a present for the nice children...
The photo is from our Vasilopita cake with mastic (mastiha Chiou) flavor! Happy new year!