New Year's Tradition: Vasilopita
Did you know that January 1st is the feast day for St Basil the Great? If you're looking for a way to ring in the civil New Year with our hearts and minds focused on the Lord, look no further than the Vasilopita tradition! ✨ Vasilopita✨ is a sweet bread or cake with a coin baked inside!
St Basil the Great is among the most well-known and beloved saints in the Orthodox Church. He is also one of the Three Holy Hierarchs of the Church, along with St John Chrysostom and St Gregory the Theologian. His feast day is celebrated on January 1, so the New Year is marked with his blessing. In this guide you will find more about the many Greek traditions surrounding this feast, the story of his life, and additional resources to help you create feast day traditions with your families for years to come!
Vasilopita Tradition:
Every year on New Years, the faithful bake a citrusy cake or bread with a coin hidden inside for the feast of St Basil the Great which is January 1st. This is a tradition that stems from Greece. In Greek Vasilopita means Basil’s cake/bread. It is an important part of the Greek New Year’s Day celebration. This special cake contains a hidden coin which is often blessed by the priest after the service at church and distributed. There is also a special family tradition of blessing the Vasilopita at home and it is then cut and shared among the members of the household (more on that below). It is said that whoever gets the piece with the coin hidden inside of it, they are considered to have St. Basil’s blessing for the whole year! The Vasilopita is made of a variety of doughs, depending on regional and family tradition. I’ve included a recipes for the Vasilopita (cake) version. Another custom in Greece on St Basil’s feast day is to visit the homes of friends and relatives, to sing New Year's carols, find ways to serve the poor, and to set an extra place at the table. St Basil, being born into a wealthy family, gave away all his possessions to the poor, the underprivileged, those in need, and children, so in his honor we remember the poor. In some areas in Greece, it is actually St Basil that is brings children presents, not “Santa”.
But why the special cake? Here's why:
During a time of famine, the emperor demanded an excessive tax from the people of Caesarea, so each family had to give up all their valuables – money and/or jewelry. Upon finding out this injustice, St. Basil fearlessly defended his people, calling the emperor to repentance. The emperor was moved by St. Basil’s speech, canceled the tax and returned all the valuables to the Saint. The Saint was faced with a daunting task: out of a large amount of items, he had to return each one to its rightful owner. He prayed, then prepared a huge cake and baked the treasures inside of it. After calling his flock to prayer, he blessed and cut the cake, offering a piece to each person. Miraculously, each owner received his own valuables in his piece of the cake.
Vasilopitas have been baked, blessed and distributed on St. Basil’s feast day (January 1st) every year since his repose, to commemorate this miracle!
What I love about these beautiful traditions is they not only are fun and memorable, but they also help us remember the story and participate with our families in a meaningful way! It’s not just “traditions for traditions sake!” They are ancient practices that are still relevant today, even in a modern world.
You can read more about the story of the Vasilopita in the book “The Story of Vasilopita” by Potamitis Press. It recounts the story for children. I love this series of books for children because they are engaging, inexpensive ($4 per book) and use discount code "FREE-(MEDIA MAIL ONLY)-SHIPPING-USA" for free shipping - just choose "Media Mail."
Scroll to read more about this tradition, find the recipe and learn more about St Basil the Great
Vasilopita Recipe
Below you’ll find the recipe we use each year. I also bake it in a springform pan and flip it upside down to make for a smooth flat surface to decorate with power sugar! Turns out great each time!
Additional Notes: ** I made the above recipe and only had an 8-inch springform pan, which I cooked for 10 additional minutes longer (55 minutes) until my skewer inserted in the middle of the cake came out clean. I decorated it by printing the numbers out on paper, cutting them out, laying them on the cake and then sprinkling the entire cake with powdered sugar. I then carefully lifted the letters up to reveal “2024” on the cake!
If you need a gluten free recipe check out this Gluten Free Vasilopita Recipe by Ms Modify Blog
You can download this free printable recipe (above) in this link:
An important element of the Vasilopita is of course the coin that is tucked inside the cake or bread! This is what sets this bake apart from any other bake! I’ve read that you can use any coin: quarter, dime, penny, etc, as long as you wrap it in foil before inserting it. In our family, we have this special heirloom St Basil coin from Patmos Press that we can use year after year in our family’s Vasilopita! It’s a golden coin stamped with an icon of St Basil along with the inscription “Saint Basil the Great of Cappadocia”. I was very impressed with the sturdiness and brilliance of the coin. My only regret is not ordering more so I could hand out Vasilopita to friends! Ours came with a special clear container so we can store it away for years to come without damaging it. You can order this coin HERE through their Etsy shop.
Prayer to Bless your Vasilopita at Home
Gather all members of your household together. The head of the household will make the sign of the cross over the vasilopita and pray a special prayer/blessing over the vasilopita while saying, "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." All respond "Amen."
Then pieces of the Vasilopita are cut in the following order:
The 1st piece is set aside for Christ
The 2nd piece for Theotokos
The 3rd piece for St Basil
and the 4th piece for the poor.
Then pieces are given to all present, beginning with the eldest and ending with youngest. The one who receives the piece containing the coin is traditionally considered to be especially blessed for the New Year.
✨Prayer for Vasilopita ✨
Let us pray unto the Lord. Lord, have mercy. O Creator of all things, Lord and King of the ages, plenteous in mercy and bountiful in goodness, who didst accept the Magi’s gifts in Bethlehem, who art the Bread of life that came down from heaven, who by Thine authority didst establish the seasons and the years and dost hold our life in Thy hands. Hear us who pray to Thee on this holy day upon our entrance into the new year of Thy goodness and bless (+) this loaf/cake, which has been offered to Thy glory and in honour of our Father among the Saints Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Do Thou who art Benevolent, look down from Thy holy heaven and send down upon us, upon those who have offered these gifts and upon them that partake thereof, Thine heavenly gifts, for our hope is in Thee, the living God, unto the ages. Bless this parish (home, school, foundation, etc) and our entrances and exits; replenish our life with all good things and direct our footsteps that we may keep Thy divine commandments, for man shall not live by bread alone; Through the intercessions of Thy Most pure Mother, of our Father among the saints Basil the Great and of all Thy saints who from all ages have been well pleasing to Thee. Amen.
So what do you do with these set aside pieces? They are set aside, and ideally, they are wrapped/packaged up and given away to others! We usually set them aside and wrap them up for our neighbors. If no member of your household received the coin, just make sure to warn the recipients there might be a coin inside one you warn them!
Attend a Service
As I often say, the best way to celebrate a feast day of any saint is by attending a Divine Liturgy (as you are able) or any services available. And what is a better way to ring in the New Year than to begin with worship and thanksgiving to our God? This is an important way to connect our lives at home with our lives in the church, and it is a beautiful way to honor St Basil. Check to see if your church is offering a service either on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day! Many churches will bless Vasilopita after the service and distribute them as well!
Troparion and Kontakion
On the feast day for a saint we are remembering, we like to add an additional prayer during our family prayer time. A simple formula for this, if you don’t have one written down already, is saying “O Holy Saint Basil, pray unto God for us.” My children will often say this simple prayer during family prayer time. There are, however, special prayers written for St Basil which are sung during Liturgy, which go as follows:
Troparion for St Basil (Tone 1)
Your proclamation has gone out into all the earth
Which was divinely taught by hearing your voice
Expounding the nature of creatures,
Ennobling the manners of men.
O holy father of a royal priesthood,
Entreat Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Kontakion for St Basil (Tone 4)
You were revealed as the sure foundation of the Church,
Granting all men a lordship which cannot be taken away,
Sealing it with your precepts,
O Venerable and Heavenly Father Basil.
Additional Songs
If you’ve never heard of a New Year’s Carol, you can hear an example of a traditional Greek New Years Carol on YouTube HERE.
Additional Activities
I cannot rave enough about what a wonderful FREE online resource Orthodox Pebbles is! They are an amazing teaching resource for parents, creating high-quality, free, online Orthodox Christian educational resources for young children.I literally have purchased ALL of them, because my kids love them and they are the perfect quiet activity for busy hands at church. Anyway, I digress…
Icon Craft by Orthodox Pebbles
This year we used their St Basil the Great Lesson plan from their website and created a St Basil Icon craft using resources we already had on hand: construction paper, washi tape, glue, and glitter! The girls proudly held up their craft and displayed it on our altar while they tasted their Vasilopita. I’ll definitely be saving these forever!
In addition to the icon craft, you can find an easy to follow lesson plan, a vasilopita craft using household items, St Basil Board Game, and their recipe for Vasilopita (which we tried above - highly recommend)! You can find it all HERE on their website. Be sure to check out other lessons plans/resources on their site, including one for Theophany (Epiphany) which is celebrated on Jan 6th, and one for the Three Holy Hierarchs on Jan 30th.
Orthodox Pebbles create these resources for FREE so that more families can have access to high quality materials in order to teach the faith to their children. They also have a new collaboration with Ancient Faith Kids YouTube which I’m so excited to check out!
Find Ways to Serve the Poor
St Basil wrote extensively on how to live as an Orthodox Christian (you can find many of his works translated and published by SVS Press HERE) which includes our responsibility as Christians to care for the poor.
“Consider yourself, who you are, what resources have been entrusted to you, from whom you have received them, and why you have received more than others. You have been made a minister of God’s goodness, a steward of your fellow servants… Resolve to treat the things in your possession as though belonging to others.” - St Basil the Great
One way to honor St Basil is by finding ways to serve the poor as a family. Create a plan for how you will do this in the coming year and include your children in it as well! Some ideas include:
Donate your gently used items, canned goods/food, or money to your local homeless shelter
Organize a collection drive - collect blankets or coats for the homeless in the winter, socks/underwear, etc. Contact the organizations who work for poor people to find out what they need and then organize collection drive by setting up containers at church, schools, or community centers in which people can drop off donations
Assemble Care Kits for the homeless to keep in your car to hand out
Volunteer at a food bank, homeless shelter, or Christian pregnancy crisis center in your area
If you frequently pass by homeless on the street, consider packing an extra sack lunch to hand out. Pray and ask God to reveal the person who is hungry, and he will surely provide!
For more ways to connect, check out FOCUS North America which is an Orthodox Christian organization
Final Thoughts
Lastly, as a reminder, none of these items or traditions I mentioned above are necessary to follow. The beauty of our faith is it is celebrated all over the world, so my hope is to share with you various traditions as a way of introducing you to them. In our family we have adapted some traditions which we have received from others in our parish, and we make them our own. Find what works best for your family and add your own personal additions!
Be sure to follow along with me on Instagram for more Feast Day resources in the coming year! Also, consider subscribing below to receive updates on future guides and resources. Here is what I have in store for the coming year.
Whatever it is you do, I pray the Lord blesses your efforts!
Khouria Destinie
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