Have you ever heard of the legend of Saint Basil’s bread? It’s a legend that has created a tradition in the homes of Greek families on January 1st for thousands of years, dating back to the days of the Roman Empire.
I always believed that it was a simple and straightforward legend. Yet the more research I conducted, the more I realized that there is no definitive version of this story. This legend is so ancient that no two sources can agree on what really happened. Because this story was passed down through word of mouth, it’s essentially like a game of telephone that’s been going on for over a millennium. Every website and video that I looked at described this tale differently.
At first, I wasn’t sure which rendition to tell, but then I asked myself: why can’t I tell them all? So I’ve decided to tell this legend in the style of a “choose your own adventure” story.
Envision the Roman city of Caesarea, sometime between the years 370 and 379 A.D. This lively port city on the Mediterranean coast was home to a beloved bishop named Basil. One year during the 370s was a trying time for Caesarea because (choose a problem).
- The Roman government issued an unpayable tax.
- There was a great famine.
- The city was going to be burned to the ground and pillaged.
The unpayable tax.
The Romans were taxing the impoverished people of Caesarea with no mercy. The townsfolk could barely scrape up enough money to live by. The tax was so extreme that each individual had to give up their personal jewelry and valued items. This really got on Basil the bishop’s nerves. He was so enraged by this tax that he spoke up against the Roman Emperor. He called him to change his ways.
“Hey, so maybe you shouldn’t be ruining the lives of your citizens,” said Basil.
“Oh, you’re so right, I’ll stop the tax right now,” the Emperor replied.
Go to ending A.
The great famine.
Basil the bishop wanted to help those who were struggling financially without having them be publicly embarrassed about receiving this welfare. Also, the Romans wouldn’t allow such a public display. To kill two birds with one stone, Basil baked coins within pies that he gave out to the less fortunate without the people and the government knowing.
Go to the epilogue or try something different. Personally, I find this to be the least exciting ending, so I’d recommend you try again. But it’s your choice, no pressure.
The city was going to be burned to the ground and pillaged.
The city was going to be demolished by a great enemy. In some versions, this enemy is a tyrant general and his unbeatable army, while in others it’s a ruthless band of thieves. Either way, this enemy was notoriously merciless. To save the city, Basil told the people to gather all their coins and valuable jewelry to create a ransom fund. The enemy (choose).
- Was embarrassed by the ransom
- Was impressed by the ransom
- Never showed up
The enemy was embarrassed.
“Woah, um, I wasn’t expecting this… I can’t really pillage you if you already willingly gave me all of your stuff, it makes things pretty awkward, um, I’m just gonna leave and pretend that this never happened,” said the enemy. The city was saved!
Go to ending A.
The enemy was impressed.
“Oh my Caesar! You did all of this for me? Wow, I’m so impressed. That must’ve taken a lot of organizational effort. Thanks so much for this honor. I can’t demolish your city now, I’d feel too guilty. I’m going to go back, but I appreciate this offer,” said the enemy. The city was saved!
Go to ending A.
The enemy never showed up.
“We’ve waited for a long time, but I don’t think anyone’s coming to destroy us. It probably was just a rumor. Well, I guess we took everyone’s valuables because of a false alarm,” said Basil the bishop. The city was saved?
Go to ending A.
Ending A
Basil the Bishop was put in charge of returning all of the people’s riches. However, Basil didn’t know how to distribute so many valuables to so many people. He used some very outside-of-the-box thinking and came up with the idea of baking all of these valuable items into bread. He blessed the bread and all of the individual townspeople miraculously received the exact items that they contributed.
Continue to the epilogue or try something different.
Epilogue
Basil the bishop became known as Saint Basil after his death on January 1st. To commemorate his act of charity and bravery, Greek families bake a coin into a cake/bread called Vasilopita (this translates to Basil’s bread).
Because Saint Basil’s Day is on the same date as New Year’s Day, the Vasilopita tradition is centered around luck for the upcoming year. The head of the household cuts a piece of bread for each person. Then, slices would traditionally be cut in honor of the home, the poor, Saint Basil, Jesus, and any other honored people or places. Whoever has the slice of Vasilopita with the coin inside gets good luck for the next year.
My family has baked the same Vasilopita recipe for generations, and I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to share my “yia-yia” (grandma) Helen’s recipe that she got from the Greek islands:
- 3 ¾ cups of flour
- 1 ⅓ cups of sugar
- 4 eggs
- 6 tablespoons of butter
- ½ cup of water
- 1 ½ tablespoons of baking powder
- ¼ and ⅛ teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 package of yeast (dissolved in water)
- ½ and ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 ½ tablespoons of baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon of nutmeg
- Beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Add milk and melted butter.
- Dissolve yeast in water, and add that to the mixture.
- Add the whites of the eggs (well beaten).
- Add the dry ingredients and mix.
- Place in a well-buttered/greased pan, about 9 x 12 or round pans of that size.
- Let stand a while (15 minutes) and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Brush with egg yolk and bake about 10 minutes more at 350 degrees.
- Enjoy!