Here’s to a happy, prosperous New Year!

by | Mar 29, 2022

We at Oriani honor the traditions! So it was time for the Pitta Cutting ceremony: the Oriani team, Vassilopita, and champagne. We wish everyone happiness, peace and prosperity. Let 2022 be the beginning of all things good.

Not familiar with the Pitta Cutting tradition?
 Here are some interesting facts about it:

Vassilopitta is a New Year’s bread or cake, made of a variety of dough, depending on regional and family tradition. Vassilopitta, as Greek tradition dictates, is cut by families (and at Oriani, we are family!) to bless the house and bring good luck for the new year. A coin is hidden in the bread by slipping it into the dough before baking. 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 include the Lord, St. Basil and other saints or the poor, the household, etc.
The actual name “βασιλόπιτα” comes from βασιλεύς ‘king’ + πίτα ‘cake’, but was reinterpreted as “Basil’s (Βασίλειος) cake”.

Vassilopitta is associated with a legend of Saint Basil. According to one story, St. Basil called on the citizens of Caesarea to raise a ransom payment to stop the siege of the city. Each member of the city gave whatever they had in gold and jewelry. When the ransom was raised, the enemy was so embarrassed by the act of collective giving that he called off the siege without collecting payment. St. Basil was then tasked with returning the unpaid ransom, but had no way to know which items belonged to which family. So he baked all of the jewelry into loaves of bread and distributed the loaves to the city, and by a miracle (some believe that the miracle took place after the Divine intervention of Saint Mercurius, along with some angels), each citizen received their exact share.