Have a Good Slide into the New Year! Germans often wish one another “Ein guten Rutsch” as the New Year approaches. The expression has English connotation of “sliding well” into the new year, safe and sound. However, this phrase might have a completely other meaning. Some experts believe it is a corruption of the Yiddish phrase, “Guten Rosch.” Yiddish is the vernacular of European Jews – it emerged from German, but has traces of other east European languages as well as some Hebrew. In the case of “Guten Rosch,” "Rosh" refers to the Jewish New Year "Rosh Hashanah." The Hebrew word "Rosh" means “head” or “principal.” Hence the start of the new year. Given the second Covid year of 2021, few of us had the slide we hoped for, but we can hope that 2022 is a much, much better year! Other big traditions in Germany on New Year’s Eve: Dinner for One: Amazingly, we in North America don’t know about the wonderful comedy sketch called “Dinner for One.” This 18-minute English language film features just two actors and is absolutely hilarious. Germans watch this every New Year’s Eve and everyone knows what you mean when you use the line “The same procedure as every year.” Have a look at this on YouTube! (There's a German intro, but the entire bit is done in English!) Silvester: Since December 31 is the feast day of Saint Sylvester, Germans refer to this day always as “Silvester.” He was the Pope from 314 to 335. Carp: Yes, eating carp on Silvester is a tradition. It is often done in the style called “Blau” which means that the fish stands in vinegar for about 10 minutes. This gives it a somewhat blue color before simmering in a mix of water and special spices. Fireworks: The normally conservative and quiet Germans let loose with a flurry of fireworks which light up the sky. Every Tom, Dick or Heinrich can gets his own fireworks together and many of these pack some serious firepower! New in 2019, however, were various fireworks bans. In Munich, all fireworks are banned this year. For Silvester 2021, most cities have banned fireworks altogether. Ski-Jumping: For the past few years we would head to Garmisch to watch the ski jumping on New Year's Day. Though fans are banned this year, the tournament will be televised, and record-smashing ratings are expected, since there is literally nothing else to do! Action starts December 28 in Obertsdorf, then moves on to Garmisch, Innsbruck and Obertsdorf respectively: More Info