Celebrating The New Year – German style

by Elycia Lee
 
In Germany, New Year is called as Neujahr and it’s celebrated on the 1st of January, the first day of the first month of the Georgian calendar. People in Germany hold a lot of fervor and zeal for the New Year celebrations.
 
Germans are well known for being party people. Majestic parties are thrown all over Germany in pubs, clubs, restaurants as well as discotheques, initiated on New Year’s Eve and it goes on the entire night to end on the next morning. The grandest and the most famous parties occur at Brandenburg Tor in Berlin. Throngs of people come in these parties to eat, drink, sing, dance, and celebrate the New Year.
 
As soon the as the clock strikes twelve at midnight, people exchange wishes, hugs and kisses, opening up champagne bottles to illustrate their pleasure for the moment as they welcome the New Year. Firecracker displays are crafted in beautiful sequences and it has been a major part of New Year celebrations in Germany.
 
One of the very interesting traditions of New Year that the Germans intently abide to is the tradition of foretelling the future of the coming year, which is called the ‘Bleigiessen’. It is done by falling molten lead in cold water. The shape formed in the water is considered as the basis of predictions made for the future of a person. For instance, a ship shaped formation suggests travelling or journey, a pig shaped formation suggests abundance of food, and a heart or ring shaped formation suggests a wedding in the coming year.
There is also a major tradition of leaving a bit of the New Year’s Eve food till midnight when New Year arrives. They believe that doing so confers plenty of food for the entire coming year. Besides that, a dish of carp of herring, carrots and cabbage on the platter, along with champagne raised for a toast on New Year’s Eve is said to bring financial stability for the New Year. Also, people share meat and cheese with close friends and family members over the feast.