- How Germans prepare for the New Year
- Festive table
- German traditions for the New Year
- German Santa Claus
- What do the Germans give for the New Year
New Year in Germany (Neujahr), along with Christmas, is considered one of the most important public holidays in the country. The Germans celebrate the New Year on the night of December 31 to January 1 and treat the celebration with special trepidation. The eve of the holiday is called Sylvester in honor of a monk who lived in the 4th century and died on the night of December 31.
How Germans prepare for the New Year
The preparations for the holiday begin in mid-December. Before the New Year, the Germans celebrate Christmas, so the whole of Germany is in anticipation of the country's two main holidays. In December, gifts are bought, houses are cleaned, restaurants and cafes are booked to celebrate the New Year.
Every German is confident that a thorough cleaning of the room where he lives can bring good luck and prosperity next year. All old things are thrown away, and the tables are covered with clean tablecloths and served with new dishes. Residents of private houses must clean the chimney from dirt and soot. Only in this case happiness and harmony will come to the home.
Fresh spruce, decorated with colorful toys, garlands and miniature animal figurines, is an integral symbol of the New Year in Germany. According to an ancient German tradition, the pine scent scares away evil spirits and prevents them from entering the house.
Even before Christmas, wreaths of spruce branches decorated with bells are hung on the doors. Wreaths also play a significant role in New Years celebrations, as the Germans know that this is an old custom. Many centuries ago, people who lived in Westphalia, during the New Year celebrations, believed that loud banging of dishes or playing rattles would get rid of the negative impact of the world around them. Bells on wreaths perform this function to this day.
Festive table
German housewives prepare many dishes, especially at Christmas. The New Year's feast cannot be called plentiful, but it is not complete without traditional food.
On the tables every New Year you can see:
- stewed or baked carp or other fish;
- cold cuts from various types of meat;
- cheese platter with fruit;
- fondue;
- iceban (baked pork shank with spices);
- potato salad;
- eintopf (soup with vegetables, meat and cereals);
- strudel, Berlin donuts, marzipan desserts;
- braised cabbage;
- punch, champagne, punch.
Residents of Germany sometimes prefer going to a restaurant to home gatherings, so they don't cook very many dishes. The center of the table is carp, the scales of which symbolize wealth and prosperity.
Raising their first glasses for the coming New Year, the Germans congratulate each other with the words Guten Rutsch, which means "good (good) glide". Another form of congratulation is the phrase Frohes Neues !, which translates as “joy of the new”.
German traditions for the New Year
In Germany, a number of compulsory New Year's customs and rituals have been preserved for a long time. Among the most popular:
- Eating lentil soup in the evening before the holiday. Such a meal brings prosperity to a person in financial affairs and career.
- On the first day of the New Year, eat a piece of pickled herring for breakfast.
- On January 1, it is forbidden to dry clean clothes outside. Otherwise, the owner of the house may face major troubles in the coming year.
- On New Year's Eve, fortune telling on molten lead is common. To do this, a plate of cold water is placed in front of the fortuneteller, into which a spoonful of lead is poured. Then the participants in fortune-telling must, by the outlines of metal in the water, distinguish symbols that have symbolic meaning.
- When the chimes strike for the last time, the Germans stand on chairs and then jump off them.
After the New Year, all the inhabitants of Germany go out into the streets and start launching fireworks, firecrackers and firecrackers. According to the Germans, the more noise is created during the holiday, the greater the chance that the next year will be successful in all respects.
German Santa Claus
The main New Year's heroes in Germany are Weinachtsman (Father Frost), as well as his granddaughter Christkind (Snow Maiden). Most of all these characters are waiting for a visit, of course, children who prepare a magic shoe in advance.
Weinachtsman always rides a sleigh harnessed to a donkey, which the children feed with hay with contentment. The best present for the German Santa Claus is fruits and sweets left on a special tray near the shoe. If the child behaved well for a whole year, then Weinachtsman leaves gifts in his shoe.
Also, German children can write a letter with their wishes to the Weinachtsmann residence in November. The reply to the letter comes on the eve of the New Year. Separately, it should be noted that Weinachtsman writes in 4 languages, including Russian. Therefore, the message to the German Santa Claus is sent not only from Germany.
During the holiday, fabulous performances, concerts and New Year's events with the participation of the best creative teams take place throughout the country.
What do the Germans give for the New Year
Most of the gifts are presented at Christmas, so on New Year's Eve, people in Germany prefer to give small souvenirs. The process of gifting loved ones is called Besherung and takes place on December 31 at any time of the day.
A horseshoe, figurines of piglets made of marzipan, clover petals made of chocolate, figurines of chimney sweeps with flower pots in their hands are perfect as a gift.
The older generation gives young people books, money in envelopes, key rings and stationery. Children get whatever they want for the holiday, including toys, clothes and sweets.
At work, colleagues give each other a variety of utilitarian gifts, and also send comic New Year greetings.
The Germans have a very careful attitude towards gift wrapping. So, each present should be wrapped in multi-colored paper and decorated with a postcard in which the words of congratulations are written. It is not customary to leave gifts under the spruce and it is better to pass them from hand to hand.
For Germans, attention from relatives and friends is important, so visiting and presenting gifts is considered a sign of courtesy.
