New Year's Eve and New Year Traditions

The last day of the year in Germany is called "Silvester". On this day, the Holy "Silvester" is celebrating his Name Day. He died on December 31, 335 a.C. In Rome as Pope. 

On December 31, all shops are closed from noon on. In the churches, services are held to thank for the past and ask for the Future. This day is comparable to the Christmas party on December 24th in Japan. 
The evening is spent with friends either at home, at a party, in a restaurant or in a theater. 

It has become a popular tradition,to watch "Dinner for One"  on TV. "Dinner for One" is a British sketch about a lonely old lady named Miss Sophie and her butler, who at her 90th birthday, takes on the role of long-dead friends and get very drunk. 

At midnight you toast with a glass of sparkling wine or champagne and wish each other „Prosit Neujahr“, „Ein gutes neues Jahr“ oder einen „Guten Rutsch“. Every now and then, lucky charm as chimney sweeps, four leaf clover or small marzipan pigs are given away.

Of course, should a large fireworks at midnight not fail to drive away evil spirits. These traditions date back to ancient Germanic rituals. In earlier times, the noise was made with drums, trumpets and gunshots. Even today, the church bells ring at midnight. 

After the fireworks, some people like to take a look into the future in the form of lead casting (Bleigießen), horoscopes or card reading.  

You melt the little lead pieces. Then you pour it into cold water. The results could be something like that: Elefant=elephant, Golfer=golf player, Hund=dog

 

Lead casting set.

For the lead casting (Bleigießen), small pieces of lead are melted down and poured into cold water and the resulting objects are interpreted for the new year. Depending on the mood, the rest of the night is celebrated together, often with plenty of alcohol.


Very popular is to eat fondue or raclette at New Year's Eve with friends. At Fondue, meat pieces are cooked in hot oil or broth at the table then dipped in various sauces and eaten with baguette and salads. The Raclette is originally a Swiss specialty. It is layered with ham and vegetables in small pans and baked with cheese. It is eaten with steamed or boiled potatoes and pickled or fresh vegetables. The remaining time until midnight is spent with board games or just a party. 

Raclette

               Fondue

The next day (New Years Day) is a public holiday and is used for sleeping in or going for a long walk.

Christmas traditions

For the Germans, the Christmas season is the most important holiday of the year on which the whole family comes together. 

The pre-Christmas period corresponds to the four weeks before Christmas eve and begins on the first Sunday of Advent, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The apartment is decorated for Christmas with fir branches, Christmas decorations and candles. On the table is the Advent wreath, a wreath of fir twigs with four candles.

Every Sunday in Advent, a candle is lit. The children get an advent calendar at which 24 doors or little bags are. Every day until Christmas, the children are allowed to open a door or bag. During Advent, the children also write their wish list for Christmas.

On the Advent Sundays you often get together to have some hot drinks (e.g. punch, tea, hot chocolate), and cookies, gingerbread and stollen (Christmas bread) to eat and to read Christmas stories to children. This custom exists since about the beginning of the 20th century.

Nikolaus: The holiday season offers children even more "excitment": On the evening of December 5th, the children put their freshly polished boots at the door or in front of the fireplace and wait for the St. Nicholas who fills the boot with sweets and fruits at night. Sometimes, even a little toy. 

In some areas, St. Nicholas is still accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, who punishes naughty children with his tree branch.

Weihnachstmärkte: The traditional Christmas markets open their doors with the Advent season. At the numerous light decorated stands, Christmas tree ornaments, candles, mulled wine (Glühwein) and all sorts of other Christmas specialties are offered for sale. Christmas or Christmas Kindle markets have been around since the 14th century. In order to sell their goods before Christmas came once craftsmen and confectioners came up with the idea to build in the marketplace stalls with their goods. This custom spread quickly and to attract more visitors at the market, toasted almonds, chestnuts and walnuts were offered (read more here: Der Weihnachtsmark - The Christmas Market)