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Neujahr

3 Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve German Style – It’s ‘Silvester’!

December 31, 2017 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

Three Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve German Style 

1 – FIREWORKS –

What 4th of July is for the American that’s New Year’s Eve or ‘Silvester’ for the German – at least, measured by the number of fireworks that go into the air that night. And that means fireworks galore! Every family is sure to sport some kind of firework and many have fireworks that would be called illegal in California, like skyrockets. (illegal fireworks in California include all that “…go into the air, or move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner”) In Germany, they are allowed. Unfortunately every year the press reports incidents of severe accidents because of them. 

2 – BLEIGIESSEN / Lead Pouring–

This is a most favorite custom that lets the Germans play fortune teller on New Year’s Eve. Originally, small chunks of lead are melted in a spoon over the flame of a candle. As soon as the lead is liquid you pour the molten lead into a bowl of cold water where the lead will take on various shapes. These ’frozen” shapes will be interpreted to tell a person’s fate for the upcoming new year. As you can imagine this makes for a great topic of conversation.  One can buy lead pouring kits for this particular custom but many families use also wax instead of lead since it is safer.

3 – “DINNER FOR ONE” –

Now, this is a very special tradition for Germans. A tradition that literally doesn’t sound German at all! But it’s one, that is not to be missed and in fact, it is all over the TV channels all night long. We are talking about “Dinner for One” which is actually a comedy sketch in English! Yet, Germans can’t get enough of this 18-minute sketch and love watching it during every new year’s eve celebration. We have it posted for you right below:

“Same procedure as every year!”

We wish everyone a Happy New Year! –

Wir wünschen einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!


Filed Under: Culture, German Traditions in CA Tagged With: Bleigiessen, Dinner for One, fireworks, Germany, Neujahr, New Years Eve, Silvester, Tradition

Happy New Year – Frohes Neues Jahr!

December 31, 2016 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

We wish you an exciting New Year’s Eve and a functioning TV so you can watch the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop on time, in case you are not actually over there… 🙂 Here is a link for a live streaming of the annual New York City celebration!

But first enjoy a German classic – Loriot und der kaputte Fernseher!

………………………..

Filed Under: "Auf Gut Deutsch", Culture, Editorial Tagged With: CaliforniaGemans, Happy New Year, Loriot, Neujahr, New Years Eve, Silvester

Happy New Year – Frohes Neues Jahr

December 31, 2015 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

70a528531c8506bd6289584dc2356331

Another year is about to end and we are quickly approaching the final countdown. We wanted to thank all of our readers and fellow CaliforniaGermans for their loyalty and support throughout 2015!

We end the year with an excerpt of a poem by Erich Kästner. The following lines are from “Der Dreizehnte Monat” (The Thirteenth Month) the last poem out of the cycle of poems called “Die 13 Monate” (The 13 Months).

We wish you all a healthy, happy and peaceful 2016!

….

„Es tickt die Zeit. Das Jahr dreht sich im Kreise.
Und werden kann nur, was schon immer war.
Geduld, mein Herz. Im Kreise geht die Reise.
Und dem Dezember folgt der Januar.“

….

(Last stanza of “Der Dreizehnte Monat” part of “Die 13 Monate” by Erich Kästner)

————————————————————————————-

.

Filed Under: Culture, Editorial, Lese-Ecke Tagged With: deutsches Gedicht, Erich Kästner, German poem, Happy New Year, Neujahr, New Year

Happy New Year – Welcome 2013 !

January 1, 2013 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

Die Magdalena Neuner Loipe im Wallgau
Die Magdalena Neuner Loipe im Wallgau

Gedicht zum neuen Jahr aus “Mein Lied” von Peter Rosegger

Wünsche zum neuen Jahr

Ein bisschen mehr Friede und weniger Streit
Ein bisschen mehr Güte und weniger Neid
Ein bisschen mehr Liebe und weniger Hass
Ein bisschen mehr Wahrheit – das wäre was

Statt so viel Unrast ein bisschen mehr Ruh
Statt immer nur Ich ein bisschen mehr Du
Statt Angst und Hemmung ein bisschen mehr Mut
Und Kraft zum Handeln – das wäre gut

In Trübsal und Dunkel ein bisschen mehr Licht
Kein quälend Verlangen, ein bisschen Verzicht
Und viel mehr Blumen, solange es geht
Nicht erst an Gräbern – da blühn sie zu spät

Ziel sei der Friede des Herzens
Besseres weiß ich nicht

Peter Rosegger , berühmter Österreicher Heimatdichter, wurde am 31. Juli 1843 in Alpl (Steiermark) geboren, er starb am 26. Juni 1918 in Krieglach.

Peter Rosegger was an Austrian poet from the province of Styria. Rosegger went on to become a most productive poet and author as well as an insightful teacher and visionary. (1843- 1918)

—————————————————————————————————

Photo Credit: Bild BR- Chris Baumann

Filed Under: German Literature & Theater Tagged With: arts, Austrian Poetry, Neujahr, New Year, Peter Rosegger

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