BJ&J Week 2-3ish German Tradition approaching quickly!

Eutychismenos o kainourgios chronos! (Greek)
Ein glückliches neues Jahr! (German)
Frohes Neues Jahr! (German)
Manigong Bagong Taon! (Tagalog)
Hauoli Makahiki hou! (Hawaiian)
Happy New Year! (Yeah I had to look those up!)


Um...if you speak any of the above languages, Just know that I found those online, so they may not be as accurate as I might like. In fact I may be saying something really bad, but you would tell me if I was right?! So, That is my incredible attempt at furthering my Greek and German language skills as per the BJ&J blog I wrote. (I had to include Tagalog since Wes is basically a Filipino and I needed a little Hawaii in there to make me feel warmer and more tropical)Seems weak though, so I have some more to share.

First I want to note that I have not been as derelict in my BJ&J goals as it seems-one of my activity days girls happens to know how to sing Happy Birthday in Greek and she is going to teach me how (She learned it in her Kindergarten class).

Now, Tonight is the night of the only German tradition I am aware of that has been celebrated in my family for at least my whole life, and probably longer. It is the New Years tradition of the Hot Dogs (or sausages) and Sauerkraut. That's right, in our house growing up, we ALWAYS rang in the new year with the smell of Sauerkraut in the house. At midnight, we eat hot dogs and sauerkraut and toast in the new year with our Sparkling Cider.

The sauerkraut would cook in the oven or crock pot for hours leading up to midnight so that, as my dad says "it will permeate through the whole house and ward off bad spirits for the coming year."

Now, I always believe my parents and I am great at taking their word for it, but for the sake of the blog and to learn more about it, I did some research about where that originated, and I found a website that said this about German New Years Traditions:

NEW YEAR'S DAY TRADITIONS

Pork & Sauerkraut are a main dish for New Years Day in the German heritage, as pigs are considered good luck charm symbols and cabbage leaves are symbolic of money, thus having pork and Sauerkraut are felt to be the best way to pave the way for the New Year. This goes back to the distant past when farm families who had a pig felt they were lucky enough to have one to feed their families during the winter. Pigs thus became good luck charms and were also used then for saving money in piggy banks. In German one says "ich habe Schwein gehabt," or I have had pig," which means colloquially that: I have had good luck!" Little pigs of cake or candy (marzipan - almond paste is popular) are also produced. The custom really demonstrates the ancient rural origins of this particular custom.

For New Year's Eve lentil, or split pea, soup, with Wienerwurst is also popular. Jelly-filled donuts, which are also popular for Fat Tuesday/Fastnacht, are also popular at New Year's. For those originating from northern Germany, herring might be a preferred good luck meal.

For beverages on the Eve, champagne and Kirschwasser, or cherry brandy are
popular, as are various wines.

Another old custom is Bleigiessen, or lead pouring, which is done by melting a small piece of lead in a spoon and then pouring it into a bowl filled with water. One then tries to interpret the form it takes, and read into the future. For example, if it looks like a pretzel, you might become a baker, or if you see a sheep, you might become a shepherd, etc., and all kinds of amusing shapes and forms are seen and various interpretations are come up with. A popular wish for the New Year is to wish someone "einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr," which means to wish someone "a good slide into the New Year."

Whereas Christmas is a close-knit family event, New Year's Eve celebrations often bring friends and family together for festive parties. An old German-American custom is called "shooting in the New Year," which described going throughout your village and firing a few shots into the air by your friends' homes. By now the transition, however, has gone to shooting off fireworks (though not always), which goes back to the ancient custom of trying to scare off any evil spirits lurking about as one enters the New Year! This is especially done at Midnight as one enters the transitional zone of the first hour of the New Year.

There you have it! I will be eating pig (in my hot dogs) and sauerkraut, but no alcohol here-so sticking to the sparkling cider. Also, I can't go about shooting anything here so I guess I will just have to stick to the other stuff.

Oh-and next year, I will figure out how to do some Bleigiessen! AWESOME!!

Happy New Year!!