New Year's Day

Not so timely a subject, I know, but I decided the other day to put down my experiences during the various holidays. I give no guarantee that this is how things are done in every household in Greece.

Between Christmas and New Year's, the latter seems to be a bigger deal to celebrate here. I haven't actually been here for Xmas to see what happens in the neighborhood, so can't say for sure. I do know that prior to the holidays, you often see advertisements for holiday getaways for Christmastime. Lots of people I know are actually out of the country on the 25th.

What do they do here for New Year's you ask? On NYE things really don't get started until after midnight. Most spend the actual Eve with their families, ring in the New Year at midnight, and THEN head out to parties, bouzoukia, or bars. If you can avoid it, you don't want to be on the streets between midnight and 1. The same can be said for 4am and after, when these parties start wrapping up and no mention of designated driver has been had earlier. ;-)

We personally were in bed by 11pm, partly due to my jet lag as well as disinterest in going out. As for the family piece of the celebration, we were going to cover that on the next day. January 1 is the name day for both Vasilis and his mother, Vasiliki. (Name days are a bigger deal than birthdays. Many open up their house to friends stopping by, food and drink flowing through the day.) Wanting to make sure we have quality time with his mom, we planned a small get-together at our house with her and Maria who lives with her.

Part of the New Year's Day tradition is the cutting and eating of the Vassilopita. Saint Vasilis is the local equivalent of St Nick, and it being his Saint's day, the cake (Vassilopita) is named after him. The cake is cut, by the eldest person present, into enough pieces for everyone there, and 2 additional. One for St Vasilis and the other for Christ (I have seen listings including pieces for others, but this is what I know). Somewhere in the cake has been placed a gold coin. Whoever gets the coin in their piece of cake is supposed to have good financial luck for the year. Last year Vasilis found the coin, but this year no one did - except perhaps Vasilis's co-workers who we had taken the remaining cake to.

You can buy these cakes at a local sweetshop, which we did this year. As shown in the picture, it says "Happy New Year 2009" on it and came with gold coin already hidden somewhere. Unfortunately, they sell these cakes by the kilo and soak them with a honey mixture of some sort making them quite heavy and therefore expensive (20 Euros). The excessive honey mixture makes it too sweet to really enjoy much of. Next year we'll be making our own.

For a more in depth write up of New Year's traditions and celebrations, see this blog entry by a fellow American who's been living in Athens for ~15 years (and is a much better writer than I). American in Athens - New Year's in Greece