Saint Basil's Song (Αγιος Βασiλης Eρχεται)

DESCRIPTION: (Modern) Greek. A New Year's game. "Hayios Basilis erchete, Kai den mas katadedechete." Saint Basil comes from Cæsarea, telling fortunes and bringing luck for the new year. Christ came first. There are references to the start of the year
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 2023 (Piotr archive)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage | New Year game fortunes St. Basil
FOUND IN: US(NE)
RECORDINGS:
Cindy Varlamos Ziemnicki with Eva Ziemnicki & Maria Giannoustos, "Άγιος Βασίλης έρχεται (Κάλαντα Πρωτοχρονιάς)" (Piotr-Archive #598, recorded 06/07/2023); "Άγιος Βασίλης έρχεται (Κάλαντα Πρωτοχρονιάς)" (Piotr-Archive #599, recorded 06/07/2023)
NOTES [286 words]: I can't help but wonder if this didn't begin as a hymn. If the first line read "Αγιος Βασiλευς ερχεται" rather than "Αγιος Βασiλης ερχεται," it would mean "(The) holy king comes" rather than "Holy/Saint Basil comes," which would obviously imply a hymn. It might also explain how a piece like this would survive in America; it would come from the Greek Orthodox church. But I do not know if there is such a hymn, or for that matter if there is a hymn about Saint Basel himself.
The Greek is modern; Basil himself lived long ago that Greek β was probably still pronounced "b," so his name would have probably been pronounced "Basil(es)," but in Modern Greek, β has become "v," and the song calls him "Vasil(es)."
Basil the Great of Cæsarea (born c. 330, died 379) was one of the great "Cappadocian Fathers," and was bishop of Cæasarea in Cappadocia in central Turkey. His major writings mostly deal with the Arian heresy; he was one of the great defenders of orthodox (Nicene) Christianity (Aland, p. 176; Christie-Murray, pp. 52-53). He was also important in creating the communal monastic movement (Loetscher, p. 113), so perhaps it makes sense that he would visit gatherings of people. His Greek writings are sufficiently important to have been included in the Loeb Classical Library, which also gives translations.
Celebrating St. Basil's day on January 1 is specific to the Orthodox churches; although both Catholic West and Orthodox East regard him as a saint, the feast day is different: "Feast in the West: formerly 14 June (his day of consecration), but since 1969 on 2 January with St Gregory Nazianzen [Basil's friend, another "Cappadocian Father"]; feast in the East: 1 January" (OxfordSaints, p. 45), - RBW
Bibliography

Aland: Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament, first German edition 1981; translated by Erroll F. Rhodes, 1987; revised edition 1989
Christie-Murray: David Christie-Murray, A History of Heresy, Oxford, 1976
Loetscher: Leffert A. Loetscher, editor, Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, based on the New Schaff-Hercog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Baker Book House, 1955
OxfordSaints: David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, fifth edition, 2003 (I use the 2004 paperback edition)

Last updated in version 6.7
File: RcSBasil

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