New Year Traditions and Customs
New Year's Eve is celebrated with great pomp all over the world as the beginning of a new year.
In Greece, the celebration of New Year's Eve has combined traditional customs for the arrival of the New Year with the religious element in many ways.
The central honored person in the Greek New Year is Saint Vasil the Great.
Saint Vasilios the Great! The Greek Santa!
Santa Claus, the European "Father of Christmas", who was brought to America and spread as a mythical figure through advertisements and films, corresponds to Saint Nicholas in all countries (except Greece) and visits homes at Christmas.
The Greeks, however, as an Orthodox people, retained the celebration of the birth of Christ as the central theme for the celebration of Christmas and chose New Year's Day as the most appropriate holiday to accommodate the Greek "Father of Christmas", Saint Vasil the Great!
Vasilios the Great (Caesarea of Cappadocia 330[4] - Caesarea of Cappadocia 1 January 379), also known as Vasil of Caesarea or simply Saint Vasil, was a Greek, Cappadocian Christian bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia on the peninsula of Asia Minor, a theologian and Father of the Church.
He upheld the Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian years. His life’s work is the establishment and operation of a social charity system, the Poorhouse or "Vassiliada", a complex with charitable institutions, such as a workhouse, orphanage, nursing home, hotel, and hospital, etc., where thousands of sufferers of all ages, and races were fed and cared for.
Vasilio's interest in the broader social problems of the people is demonstrated by his letters, in which he tried to solve the problems of workers in the mines of Taurus in Asia Minor, orphans, the underprivileged, the sick, and the needy, and he established the distribution of goods - food, clothes, money - and all kinds of aid to poor families, paupers, etc.
He is considered in world history as the initiator and first creator of organized charity.
Vasilios the Great after a rich and important literary work as well, died on 31 December 378. On January 1, 379, the day of his funeral, preserved in tradition, it was considered (first) by all Christian peoples that it brings blessing and good luck in the new year.
The memory of Vasilios the Great is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on January 1st, while a common celebration of the Three Hierarchs, Vasil the Great, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian, has been established on 30 January as the patrons of letters and education.
Saint Vasil is the central figure during the New Year's celebrations, starring in the basic Greek New Year's Eve customs, such as the New Year's cake and carols.
The Vasilopita
The custom of the "Vasilopita" (a sweet bakery cake with a coin placed inside) is associated with Saint Vasilios the Great.
It is served at the festive table on New Year's Day, the day when his memory is commemorated.
The coin put inside the Vasilopita hides a beautiful story that preserves this special custom through the centuries.
The story
According to religious tradition, when Saint Vasilios was bishop of Caesarea, the prefect of Cappadocia went to collect taxes with a fierce temper. The inhabitants were afraid and asked for the protection of their bishop. He told them to gather whatever valuable items they had to offer to the prefect.
But the Saint managed to persuade him to leave without taking anything.
It was New Year's Eve.
Since the return of the objects to their owners was practically impossible, on the advice of the Saint, small pies were baked and one valuable object was placed in each of them. The distribution took place and, miraculously, everyone got what he had given.
Since then, tradition says, we make pies with coins in them and call them Vasilopita, which is considered special because it brings people joy and blessing as well.
The majority of Greeks cut the Vassilopita right after the change of the New Year.
In some regions of Greece, however, the Vasilopita is cut at the lunch table, on the celebration day of St. Vasilios, the first day of the year.
The etiquette, however, remains the same.
The landlord makes the sign of the cross on the surface of the vasilopita three times with a knife and then starts cutting the pieces.
The first is of Christ, the second of the Virgin Mary, the third of St. Vasil, the fourth of the house, and follow the tracks of the members of the family in order of age. Then follows one last piece, that of the poor.
Vasilopita, a centuries-old custom, is made in different types and variations to different parts of Greece and is transferred to the present from generation to generation, to remind us of the love and the goodness of this holy man, Saint Vasilios the Great.
The types and ingredients
Vasilopita is mostly made of flour, eggs, sugar and milk and its shape is always round.
The most classic Christmas pies contain mahlepi, so they are somewhat reminiscent of brioche, or those that look like cakes, and include fruit, nuts, liqueurs, or other spirits depending on the region. On their surface is usually the number of the year or a wish of nuts or pomegranates.
In many regions of Greece, the vasilopita is not sweet.
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In Siatista, they used to make two types of Vasilopita: a sweet and a salty one with leaves.
The sweet one was cut at midnight, at the change of the year, to bring them sweet days.
The salty one, which also contained the silver coin, was cut at the festive lunch table on New Year's Day, and the lucky person would light a candle with the coin for the good of the whole family.
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In Epirus, the Vasilopita is a meat pie, and has its roots in the tradition of the Vlachs and Sarakatsans who were mostly shepherds.
The Sarakatsani also made a sweet pie on the morning of the eve of the festival, and ate it on the day of St. Basil's Day to make the year go well. -
In Metsovo, on the other hand, they still make an aromatic minced meat pie with the coin hidden in the dough and not in the filling.
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In Ioannina, according to an old recipe, the pie was open, and the filling consisted of mutton or chicken, along with many eggs and finely chopped scalded onions.
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In island Greece there are now countless variations.
In Crete, they make Christmas pies with flower water, while in Rhodes, they used to roll out a thick sheet of Christmas cake dough, cut it into a square shape and draw a two-headed eagle, the symbol of the Byzantine Empire, on it. In Naxos we find the so-called "Vasilokouloures" and in Lefkada resemble halva.
However, wherever and however you prefer it, the Vasilopita is an integral part of Greek tradition and its cutting is a moment that unites family and friends for the new year!
Breaking the pomegranate
An age-old custom of the Greeks for the festive day of the New Year is the "breaking of the pomegranate.
The pomegranate is a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck.
In many parts of Greece, a pomegranate was hung in every house since the fall.
At the time when the time changes, the family gathers at the front door of the house, and the first son or the father throws and breaks a pomegranate wishing
"As strong and beautiful as the grains are, so happy and blessed will be the days that the new year brings with it."
Then they all enter the house with their right foot and the first thing to do is to turn on the taps and let water flow, as a symbol of abundance and wealth.
The power of this fruit is characteristic in Greek mythology and not only, since the historical data related to this fruit is inexhaustible.
In Ancient Greece it was believed that the power of the pomegranate was hidden in its numerous grains (abundance and fertility), but also in its purple color (a color that brings good luck).
Since the popular myth of Persephone and Hades who kidnapped her and offered her a pomegranate, this fruit has been associated with the cycle of the seasons, the rebirth of nature and became a symbol of good luck, fertility, abundance and good beginnings.
In Greek mythology, the patron goddesses of the pomegranate were Hera, goddess of marriage, and Aphrodite, goddess of passion. So the pomegranate helped in family happiness and love.
It is no coincidence that, even today, it is one of the most expressive symbols of Greek folklore, with a strong presence in every form and expression of traditional life and pre-wedding rituals.