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Vasilopita is a sweet bread or cake with a coin inside traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day in Greece and other areas of Eastern Europe. It is made with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, milk, orange and lemon zest, crushed cherry stones, blanched almonds, and sesame seeds. The bread is cut in a ritual that brings good luck and blessings in the new year. The person who finds the coin in their piece is believed to be blessed for the coming year. The tradition is associated with St. Basil and is similar to the king cake tradition celebrated during the Christmas season in parts of Western Europe and Latin America.
Vasilopita, Greek for sweet basil bread or St. Basil’s bread, is a sweet bread or cake with a coin inside that is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day in Greece, the Balkans, and other areas of Eastern Europe. Regional and family tradition dictates the type of dough used to make bread, which is cut in a ritual that brings good luck and blessings in the new year. In some regions, it’s a loaf of bread, while in others, it’s a spicy pastry. The king cake tradition associated with pre-Lenten or Epiphany celebrations is similar.
The typical vasilopita is made with butter, sugar and eggs. Flour, baking soda and milk are also needed. Orange and lemon zest as well as crushed cherry stones, blanched almonds and sesame seeds give the bread a sweet and fruity flavour. Any coin can be used and is usually wrapped in gold or silver foil.
The type of dough or cake batter used to make sweet bread varies regionally but is often tsoureki, or sweet bread formed from twisted strands. The sweetness of the dough symbolizes the joy of eternal life. The baker wraps a coin in foil, makes the sign of the cross over the dough, and places the prize into the unbaked vasilopita without looking. The bread is then baked and cooled before cutting.
Sweet bread is traditionally cut on New Year’s Eve by the eldest family member and distributed to everyone present. Parts of the bread can be cut off and reserved for Jesus Christ, St. Basil, or the Greek Orthodox Church. The person who finds the coin in his piece is believed to be blessed for the coming year.
In Greece, the tradition of vasilopita is associated with St. Basil and January 1 is St. Basil’s Day. According to legend, a heavy tax was levied on the people of Caesarea in the 4th century. St. Basil confronted the emperor, who canceled the tax.
Although the tax was canceled, St. Basil had to decide how to return all the coins and jewels that had been paid to their rightful owners. He asked that all revenues be collected in one giant pita which he cut up and distributed to the people. Miraculously, each person received his valuables in the received piece of vasilopita. The tradition of sweet bread is observed in remembrance of the deeds of St. Basil.
Similar to vasilopita is the king cake tradition celebrated during the Christmas season in parts of Western Europe and Latin America. In America, king cake is eaten during the Mardi Gras celebration before Lent in Louisiana and New Orleans. A king cake is baked with a small trinket inside, usually a plastic baby, and the person who finds it in their piece earns rewards and duties, including having to buy the king cake next year.
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