Unlike the rest of Greece, where vassilopita is a cake or type of bread, in Thrace, and especially the Northern areas of Evros, vassilopita is a cheese pie often cooked with pork, spices, vegetables, and nuts. Like elsewhere, it is traditionally served on New Year's Eve.
Typically, the pie contains a coin that is supposed to give good luck to the receiver. In Thrace, other small ornaments or trinkets also hidden in the pie are considered to symbolize what the New Year brings to the person who finds it. For example, the skull is supposed to be a symbol of health, whereas sesame is a sign of the abundance of goods and production. Finally, whoever got the straw would be responsible for the barn for the whole next year!
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