Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hallo und willkommen! I'm MeisterLehnsherr und ihr seht „Get Germanized -- Top 10 German
New Year's Traditions"! Our first New Year's Tradition is:
1. Krach Machen - Making Noise On New Year's Eve it's an old tradition to
drive out the old and welcome the new by making a lot of noise! In the medieval ages people
used maracas, whips and threshing flails to make noise but nowadays people switched to
fireworks!
2. Bleigießen -- Lead Pouring By heating up a piece of lead on a spoon and
pouring the hot liquid into cold water, Germans believe to be able to have a glimpse at their
own future. Depending on the shape the lead takes in the water their future will turn
out a certain way. An anchor could stand for help in dire need, while a cross means death.
But people tend to see what they wanna see!
3. Gummibärenorakel -- Gummi Bear Oracle This tradition is a lot of fun and less dangerous
than lead pouring so your kids can participate in it as well! You blindly pull five gummi
bears out of the package and then tell your future depending on the colors of the bears.
Red stands for love in the new year, yellow for wealth and ambition, green for trust and
hope and so on! In the end everyone can think of the meaning for themselves though!
4. Pendeln - Swinging a Pendulum Another German oracle tradition is to swing
ask a question, swing a pendulum and then see what it tells you! If it swings clock-wise
the answer is yes, counter-clock-wise means no. So swing away this year!
5. Bibelstechen - Bible Poking This is an interesting tradition for all those
who have a bible at home. You open a random page with your thumb and then blindly pick
a column, read it out loud and discuss what it could mean for the new year.
6. Das Drehen um die eigene Achse -- Spinning on your heel
One of my favorite New Year's traditions! In case you got bad news from all your oracle
traditions, you can just spin on your heel and transform a bad omen into a good one!
Lucky!
7. Neujahrskarten -- New Year's Greeting Cards Germans send off greeting cards to their family
and friends to wish them a happy new year! Most of them say things like "Ein gutes und
gesegnetes neues Jahr! (A good and blessed new year)" but you can also just say "Frohes
Neues! (Happy New One)". Prosit Neujahr is another phrase that is often used to wish
people a happy new year. Prosit is latin and means "Es möge gelingen -- it shall work
out".
8. "Dinner for One" Many Germans watch a 14-minute-long British
sketch called "Dinner for One" on New Year's Eve. This is part of an annual German custom
that began 1963 when the sketch was aired for the first time on German television. Ever
since the phrase "The same procedure as every year, James" is a well-known and loved catch
phrase in Germany. Google "Dinner for One" if you wanna know more about it!
9. Gute Vorsätze fürs neue Jahr fassen - Making New Year's Resolution
Like many others, Germans also make New Year's Resolutions. Often we want to do things like
get in shape, stop smoking / drinking or just generally improve our lifes. I've actually
made a video about this topic, so click HERE if you wanna learn more about my German New
Year's resolutions! 10. Fondue
Another German New Year's Tradition is to melt a whole lot of cheese in a big pot, cook
some meat and veggies and then dip them into the gooey goodness! This calorie-heavy German
tradition is loved and done by many! These were "10 German New Year's Traditions"!
What are yours? Tell me in the comments below or make a video response!
If you enjoyed this video please give it a thumbs-up and share it with your friends to spread these
fun German New Year's traditions! Also subscribe to my channel for new videos every Wednesday,
Friday and Sunday.Like my Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive
bonus content and sneak peeks into my daily life here in Germany. You can also support
the channel and get access to many cool rewards like a monthly Google Hangout session with
me by becoming my patron HERE! Vielen Dank fürs Zusehen, thank you for watching,
don't forget to Get Germanized und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!