The holiday continues with the New Year's Eve celebrations, where the home gathering is the same as in Christmas only, this time, the main food will be mostly roast pork or lamb. On New Year's Eve the children will sing again but this time the New Year Carols "Arhiminia ki Arhihronia........Agios Vasilis erhete" (beginning of the month beginning of the year.....Saint Basil is coming). On this point I must mention that for the Greeks, Father Christmas is St. Basil of Caesarea or Agios Vasilios and not the western Santa from the North Pole. In both cases though the figures are the same: with red clothes and a long white beard and carrying presents for the children. On New Year's Eve the home entertainments concentrates mainly on card games. The reason probably for this is the so called Guri (Luck). Which means that if you win that night the new year will bring you luck. At 12 O'clock the lights will be switched off for a few seconds and every one will go out to light fireworks. If it happens that the town or the village has a port the sounds from the ships are amazing, especially in the Port of Piraeus where all the ships and ferries hoot their sirens while the whole sky of Athens is shining from multicoloured fireworks. Traditionally, as the New Year arrives the head of the house, usually the man, will step out of the door and smash a pomegranate for good luck and afterwards he will cut the "Vasilopita", the Greek New Year's cake.
In the Vasilopita cake from tradition the Greeks put a coin inside. Depending on your wealth it can be a gold sovereign or a simple coin. The one that finds it in his piece will be the new Year's lucky one.