(Saint Basil’s bread we received this morning from the local women’s monastery)

Every New Year’s Eve, it is part of my Greek Orthodox tradition to either bake a Saint Basil’s sweet bread, or purchase one through my church from the local women’s monastery. Last year and this year, we did the latter.

We ordered the bread before Christmas.

We were out of town visiting my mother for Christmas, which was a real blessing. It had been too long since we’d seen her. We had engaging talks and loved spending time with her and her precious kitties (she has five!).

So, my husband picked up our order of Saint Basil’s bread this morning at church. We are set for New Year’s Eve!

What, you may ask, do we do with this bread besides consume it?

There is a coin baked into the bread. A special coin. When we cut up the bread, the coin is hidden in one of those pieces.

Whoever gets the coin in their piece has good luck and blessings for the year.

I literally can’t remember if I’ve ever gotten the coin, but I hope every year I will.

Really, it seems the right people get the coin each year due to whatever their circumstances are. 🙂

For the New Year, I’m actually going to attempt to achieve a certain goal. It is to lose ten pounds. I’m at that age where the pounds add up and stick with you.

I plan to exercise regularly and eat more healthy food.

Wish me luck!

May you all have a blessed New Year full of joy and dreams that come true.

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