The Christmas season is officially behind us, we survived the ambiguous time between Christmas and New Year’s when no one really knows what to do or what day it is, and we have now successfully emerged on the flip side of the Gregorian calendar. Initially, I considered publishing this post last week, on New Year’s Eve, but that would have required me to write two posts within the time span of two weeks, and we’ve talked before about my (lack of) time management skills, or quite honestly, just my lack of time. That, and both my kids have been regularly performing a nightly coughing symphony between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00 AM. Ode to Joy Oh, the joys of parenthood.
In any case, I hope everyone had a good Rutsch, as the Germans say, into the New Year. Even though New Year’s Eve 2024 is already a week in the books, let’s skip the talk of New Year’s resolutions (I don’t have time to think of anything productive anyway) and reflect on New Year’s Eve, or Silvester, traditions in Germany. Celebrating New Year’s Eve like the Germans is actually quite simple and doesn’t require participating in a multiple-day holiday marathon like Christmas. Feel free to print off these three easy tips and put them on your refrigerator for next New Year’s Eve.
Eat Raclette or Fondue
When my in-laws were visiting over Christmas, they asked us about our plans for New Year’s Eve. And by asking us about our plans, they asked if we were having raclette or fondue. When we responded that we were making pulled pork, they nodded more or less in confusion. Like most airlines give you a choice between chicken or pasta, in Germany, you also have two choices for your Silvestermenü: melted, stinky cheese over potatoes or meat dipped in oil. Even though we own a raclette grill, I can only stomach raclette cheese once a year, and we had already used up our raclette quota when a friend (who actually likes raclette) was visiting from the U.S. before Christmas. Option number two for a classic Silvestermenü, fondue, was also out of the question, as we thought it was best not to serve raw meat cooked in hot oil around young children who probably wouldn’t have eaten it, anyway.
Watch “Dinner for One”
After you have had your fill of a classic raclette or fondue Silvestermenü, move on over to the couch, and, if you are living in Germany, turn on your TV and open the ARD Mediathek (also where you can watch Tatort in cased you missed it on Sunday evening). It is now time to watch the Silvester cult classic comedy sketch known to few people outside of Germany, “Dinner for One.” Because we all know that good jokes need to be explained beforehand, you can skip the brief introduction in German and get to the main show. “Dinner for One” or “The 90th Birthday,” is a two-person sketch from the 1960s and features Miss Sophie, who is celebrating her 90th birthday, and her butler James, who must toast and drink with Miss Sophie on behalf of the four friends she invited to her birthday because, spoiler alert, as is the case with most people who have reached their 90s, they are actually dead. As a result, James becomes increasingly intoxicated, walking in an unbalanced manner, much like my one-year-old, as well as comically tripping over a tiger skin rug and drinking out of a flower vase. The catch phrase from the sketch is one that everyone in the German speaking world knows: before each course, James asks Miss Sophie, “Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?” to which she replies, “Same procedure as every year, James.” If you want to impress Germans with your knowledge of German culture, simply insert the phrase “Same procedure as every year,” into your conversations and emails at any time during Q4 or Q1.
Böllern
After having a good chuckle at made-for-German British comedy (for a more comprehensive explanation of New Year’s Eve traditions, check out A British Lens on Germany) and maybe going back for some seconds of meat or cheese, it is now time for the grand finale of Silvester celebrations. By reading this newsletter, I may have given you the impression that Germans not only need to have their jokes explained to them, but that they are boring, no fun, and sometimes unhelpful. Wrong. Completely wrong. In reality, Germans are a bunch of pyromaniacs who wait all year for Silvester so that they can partake in Böllern, or shooting off firecrackers and fireworks. Comparatively speaking, Germans get giddy for fireworks much like Americans get excited about guns. On Silvester, there is nowhere that is off limits to where Germans will shoot off fireworks: parks, playgrounds, on the street, in the subway station, you name it (actually, just substitute “guns” and “Americans” in this sentence and you get the idea). New Year’s Eve is the only day of the year when I generally fear for my safety when I leave my house. In fact, five people died in Germany this past New Year’s Eve from firework-related injuries, not to mention the numerous individuals and police officers who were harmed, as well as apartment buildings that are no longer inhabitable (here’s looking at you, Berlin). The Gewerkschaft der Polizei Berlin (police union in Berlin) has officially had enough of the Silvester shenanigans and started a petition for a national Böllerverbot. All in the name of fun, right?!
Follow these three straightforward steps and you will be sure to have yourself a rockin’, err, I mean, Teutonic New Year’s Eve.
Happy 2025 we made it
Nice summary! And gz on surviving NYE. Welcome to 2025.