Episode 15: Celebrating the New Year in Germany

29. Dec, 2007 2 Comments

My Brother Nathan , recently of Dubai – soon to be of Thailand, sits in with me on this one. We discuss and describe some of the German New Year’s (or Sylverster) traditions as we’ve experienced them over the years.

One of the first things that Nathan remarked upon, when recalling his times celebrating Sylvester in Germany, was the abundance of Fireworks. Indeed, Fireworks are widely available in Germany, as the days count down to the new year. One can even find fireworks for sale in the local supermarket.

Of course, Sylversterabend (New Year’s Eve) in Germany wouldn’t be the same without the ubiquitous viewing of Freddy Frinton’s “Dinner For One”, a black and white comedy sketch from the 50′s about an elderly woman and her butler who continue to celebrate her birthday every year in the “same procedure as every year” despite the fact that all her guests have long since passed away.

I did forget to mention in the podcast the traditional “Bleigeissen” which one usually does in order to have the year ahead predicted – similar to tea-leave reading or tarot cards. The twist with Bleigeissen (literally “pouring/melting lead”) is that each person gets a lead figurine which is them melted in a spoon over a candle’s fire. Once the metal is completely fluid, it is rapidly pored into cold water and the resulting shape is then analysed, with the help of a book, in order to predict how the year ahead will progress.