New Year in Germany begin to celebrate in the morning of December 31. To find any of the Germans at home at this time is extremely problematic. They go on a visit, congratulate everyone on the holiday, wishing a "pleasant slide", exchange small gifts. Moreover, if adults give pleasant little things to each other, then Vainakhtasman and Kristkind come to the children. Vainakhtasman is a grandfather, dressed in a fur coat turned inside out, belted with metal chains, with rods in their hands, designed to punish naughty children, and a bag of gifts for those who behave well. In contrast, Kristkind is dressed in all white and carries with him a basket of sweets, fruits, nuts. Even the most shy fidget will be able to receive forgiveness and a gift if she reads a poem to her.
New Year's Eve itself, too, can hardly be called family. As soon as the twelfth blow sounds, all the residents take to the streets, blow up firecrackers, fireworks, congratulate the neighbors. New Year in Germany is all about fun, colors, phantasmagoria. Most striking is the New Year's Eve in Berlin. The length of such a street party reaches two kilometers, and a fantastic holiday firework lasts about an hour.
To see how the New Year is celebrated in Germany, curious people come from all over the world. This is the most visited European country on New Year's holidays. Therefore, to hear the traditional “Guten Rutsch!”, Which means “Have a nice slide!”, On New Year's Eve you can not only in German, but also in many other languages of the world. All night the inhabitants of the country and its guests have fun on the streets, since the weather is favorable: the temperature rarely drops below minus 5 degrees. Even if someone is cold or just tired, bars, clubs, discos, restaurants work until the morning. And the morning of the first of January belongs to the children. They ring the doors of the houses, sing songs and receive sweet treats.
Talking about how to celebrate the New Year in Germany, it is worth mentioning the traditions of this country.
- The first and most common custom is to "jump" into the New Year. how
the chimes just begin to beat, all the inhabitants climb onto chairs, armchairs, stools, make a wish and after the last blow they jump from them.
- For the New Year in Germany, a mandatory dish of the festive table is fish, preferably carp. Its large scales resemble coins and symbolize wealth. It is even customary to wear several fish scales in a wallet so that money is always found in it. And after the New Year's feast, some of the dishes are left on the tables so that there is plenty in the house.
- Another ancient traditional dish is gingerbread, which has been taking its place on the New Year's table since the Middle Ages. True, then it was baked in several large sizes. Other dishes could be compared in size with a bench.
- The New Year in Germany is unthinkable without the traditional short comedy film “Dinner for One,” which is broadcast every New Year’s night.
And, of course, an indispensable attribute of the holiday is a tree that has been decorated with apples, nuts, sweets since ancient times.