Καλή χρονιά! Happy New Year!

Φέτος, λόγω της πανδημίας, για πρώτη φορά, δεν κόψαμε την βασιλόπιτά μας την παραμονή της Πρωτοχρονιάς, αλλά προτιμήσαμε να περιμένουμε τα παιδιά μας και την εγγονούλα μας να έρθουν ανήμερα του Αγίου Βασιλείου.

'Ετσι γιορτάσαμε οικογενειακά την πρώτη μέρα του νέου έτους και κόψαμε την Βασιλόπιτα που είχα φτιάξει. (Μέχρι να σχηματίσω το 2021 είχε ήδη απορροφηθεί η ζάχαρη άχνη από την χιονονιφάδα).

According to Greek tradition, we should have cut our Vasilopita on New Year’s Eve, but for the first time, and due to the Covid pandemic, there were a lot of restrictions for parties and gatherings .

So, we preferred to wait for our son, our daughter, our son-in-law and grand-daughter to visit us on the 1^st January. We  thus celebrated the New Year’s Day in family, over a rich lunch, and then cut our Vasilopita which I had prepared two days before.

Πριν όμως, η μικρή μας  Αθηνά έσβησε τα δύο κεράκια των γενεθλίων της σε μια μικρή τούρτα που είχα φτιάξει, μία μέρα νωρίτερα από τα πραγματικά της γενέθλια, ώστε να μην πάμε εμείς στο σπίτι τους την επομένη.

But before cutting our home-made Vasilopita, our little Athena blew her candles on her second birthday cake |(also home-made) a day earlier from her real birthday (January 2^nd) so as to avoid us having to go to our daughter’s home, due to the Covid restrictions.

 

Έτσι, ήταν διπλή γιορτή για εμάς και περάσαμε πολύ ευχάριστα την ημέρα μας!  Ας ελπίσουμε πως όλη η χρονιά θα είναι καλή κι ευτυχισμένη για την οικογένειά μας, και ευχόμαστε το ίδιο για εσάς και τους αγαπημένους σας, αγαπητοί φίλοι και φίλες!      It was therefore a double celebration for us and we enjoyed the day happily!  Let’s hope the whole new year will be as good and happy for our family and we wish the same for all of you and yours, dear friends! 

Επιτρέψτε μου να σας παρουσιάσω και τις δύο τελευταίες μου δημιουργίες του 2020 τις οποίες θα ήθελα να αφιερώσω, σε όλους εσάς που επισκέπτεστε το μπλογκάκι μου και αφήνετε τα ωραία σας σχόλια.

Allow me to present you my last creations for 2020 which I would like to dedicate to all of  you who have the kindness to visit my blog and leave your nice comments.

Και οι δύο έχουν μια γλυκειά σχέση με την σοκολάτα! Both have a sweet connection with chocolate!  

Η πρώτη είναι μια Χριστουγεννιάτικη μπάλα φτιαγμένη από την ανακλύκλωση μιάς συσκευασίας Ferrero Rocher.

The first one is a Christmas bauble which was made out of a Ferrero Rocher  gift container.

 

Και η δεύτερη είναι γεμάτη σοκολατάκια για σάς And the second is full of chocolates for you

παρ’όλο που είναι ένα ανακυκλωμένο κουτί ενός after shave, although it is only a recycled after shave gift box!

 

Καλή Χρονιά!

Happy New Year !

 

Vasilopita (Greek: Βασιλόπιτα, Vasilópita, lit. '(St.) Basil-pie' or 'princess pie', see below) is a New Year's Day bread or cake in Greece and many other areas in eastern Europe and the Balkans which contains a hidden coin or trinket which gives good luck to the receiver, like the Western European. It is associated with Saint Basil's day, January 1, in most of Greece, but in some regions, the traditions surrounding a cake with a hidden coin are attached to Epiphany or to Christmas. It is made of a variety of dough, depending on regional and family tradition, including tsoureki. In some families, instead of dough, it is made from a custard base called galatopita (literally milk-pita). The pie is also known as Chronópita (Χρονόπιτα < χρόνος: chrónos ⇨ time/year + πίτα: píta ⇨ pie), meaning "New Year's pie".

 On New Year's Day families cut the vasilopita to bless the house and bring good luck for the new year. This is usually done at the midnight of New Year's Eve. A coin is hidden in the bread by slipping it into the dough before baking. At midnight the sign of the cross is etched with a knife across the cake. 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, the poor, the household, or the Kallikantzaroi. In older times, the coin often was a valuable one, such as a gold sovereign. Nowadays there is often a prearranged gift, money, or otherwise, to be given to the coin recipient. 

source: Wikipedia