Vasilopita

Vasilopita(Greek:Βασιλόπιτα,Vasilópita, lit. '(St.) Basil-pie' or 'Vassilis pie', see below) is aNew Year's Daybread, cake or pie inGreeceand many other areas in eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East which contains a hidden coin or trinket which gives good luck to the receiver, like the Western EuropeanKing Cake. It is associated withSaint Basil's day, January 1, in most of Greece, but in some regions, the traditions surrounding a cake or pita with a hidden coin are attached toEpiphanyor toChristmas. It is made of a variety of dough, depending on regional and family tradition, includingtsoureki. In some families, instead of dough, it is made from a custard base called galatopita (literally milk-pita). In the Thessaly region a pork filled phyllo pie is made with a hidden coin. The pie is also known asChronópita(Χρονόπιτα < χρόνος:chrónos ⇨ time/year+ πίτα:píta ⇨ pie), meaning "New Year's pie".
In other areas of the Balkans, the tradition of cake with a hidden coin during winter holidays exists, but is not associated with Saint Basil at all. The practice is documented amongUkrainians(apirogis cut);Romanians;Serbs("česnica", eaten on Christmas);Albanians("pite" or “kulaç”, eaten by both Christians and Muslims);Bulgarians(pogacha,Novogodishna banitsa(for New Year's),Svety Vasileva pogacha); etc.
On New Year's Day families cut the vasilopita to bless the house and bring good luck for the new year. This is usually done at the midnight of New Year's Eve. A coin is hidden in the bread by slipping it into the dough before baking. At midnight the sign of the cross is etched with a knife across the cake. A piece of cake is sliced for each member of the family and any visitors present at the time, by order of age from eldest to youngest. Slices are also cut for various symbolic people or groups, depending on local and family tradition. They may includethe Lord, St. Basil and other saints, the poor, the household, or theKallikantzaroi. In older times, the coin often was a valuable one, such as agold sovereign. Nowadays there is often a prearranged gift, money, or otherwise, to be given to the coin recipient.
Many private or public institutions, such as societies, clubs, workplaces, companies, etc., cut their vasilopita at a convenient time between New Year's Day and the beginning of theGreat Fast, in celebrations that range from impromptupotluckgatherings to formal receptions or balls.
Saint Basil's Feast Day is observed on January 1, the beginning of the New Year and the Epiphany season known as theVasilopita Observance.
Margaret Hasluck(1927) disputes the historicity of the Greek folk tradition of celebrating the feast day ofSt. Basilwithvasilopita. She says the popular belief is based on a "false etymology". Hasluck arrives at this conclusion by comparing the traditions of Greek-speaking communities with the western European celebrations of theTwelfth NightandEpiphany. Hasluck notes that no document mentions thebasilopita, althoughGregory of Nyssaconfirms the festival of Basil was one of the feast days that succeeded Christmas in his time:
Hasluck speculates that the etymology connecting the tradition to Basil's feast day is erroneous. She proposes that the translation "cake of the king" (frombasileus) is as accurate as the translation "cake of basil", a claim that she says is supported by the similarity in customs of the hidden coin and the hidden bean. She refers toLarousse Gastronomique's description of thefèvecustom referring to thegateau des rois(popularly known asking cakein English) associated in present times with the Christian holiday of Epiphany celebrated on the "Twelfth Night" after Christmas. She disputes the Christian origin of the holiday: "We may safely dismiss the theory of their Christian origin and recognize, with many good authorities, in the Twelve Days the relics of a purely pagan festival." According to Hasluck, the pagan holiday of the Twelve Days is the same as the RomanSaturnalia: "One feature of the Saturnalia was that men drew for a king with a bean, and held high revelry under his leadership for the duration of the festivities", which she says is the same as the Greek festivalKronia: "Consequently, with some confidence we identify the Basil of thebasilopitawith thebasileus, the "king" of Saaturnalia".
Nonetheless, in popular tradition, vasilopita is associated with alegendofBasil of Caesarea. According to one story, Basil called on theRoman citizensofCaesareato raise aransompayment to stop thesiegeof the city. Each member of the city gave whatever they had in gold and jewelry. When theransomwas raised, the enemy was so embarrassed by the act of collective giving that he called off thesiegewithout collecting payment. Basil was then tasked with returning the unpaid ransom, but had no way to know which items belonged to whichfamilyso he baked all of the jewellery into loaves of bread and distributed the loaves to the city, and by amiracleeach citizen received their exact share. In some tellings, the siegingtribal chiefis replaced with an evil emperor levying a tax or simply with Basil attempting to givecharityto the poor without embarrassing them.
The name "βασιλόπιτα" comes from βασιλεύς 'king' + πίτα 'cake', but was reinterpreted as "Basil's (Βασίλειος) cake".InCyprusit is also known as vasilopoulla ("βασιλοπούλλα").