Vassilopita

January 06, 2012

Vassilopita

WOW! Where did 2011 go? I feel like we blinked and it happened...and what happened? I guess time really does fly. One of my most fondest memories is a tradition we did at our house on New Years Eve growing up. Every year, without a doubt, my dad would go and buy every piece of fresh seafood he could find from a local market and cook up a storm all day. We would eat fish on New Years Eve to ring in the year with our family and my mom would make this cake, called a Vassilopita, with a quarter inside for good luck. (January 1st is the name day of Aghios Vassilis, the Greek Santa Claus, so the cake is named in his honor. The head of the household would cut the cake and then pass one out to himself first, wife second, then the children, sons first, then daughters, then any guests). So was the tradition held up in the Dictos family household. So after we ate all our fish, and we HAD to or no cake, mom would bring it out and dad would slice it up. Now this cake wasn't fancy nor was it pretty, but it was sure tasty! No magic sprinkles on top or frosting in any color, just a sprinkle of powdered sugar topped it off. She would give each of us a slice and I remember sitting in anticipation of who would get that quarter. We all would lick our lips and sit up right, and try hard to get that fishy after taste out of our mouths!!! Now you see whoever was the receiver of that quarter would have good luck all year. That's it! It wasn't a toy, or lots of money, just a quarter that meant Good luck, that's it! But oh the excitement we would get if we were the lucky one! My mom made it so special...that's what I miss the most I think. The way she would make simple things so magical. So as we enter the new year this is one of the things I am going to work on...making the simple things oh so special. I want my kids to cherish the simple things and remember them as amazing! Thanks mom and dad for providing these memories for me...love you more!