Exploring the Rauhnächte and Silvester 2 of 3
Reclaiming a heritage – one tradition, ritual and ancestral custom at a time
New Year’s Eve or Silvester as it’s called in Germany is a wonderful celebration.
It’s my favorite celebration of the year in fact. I love hard transitions, clear cuts, knowing full well they are not required for change. Change can happen any day of the week. And yet, the way we celebrate the changing of the year in my home country is near and dear to my heart.
Silvester, like Christmas Eve are considered ‘holy nights’ with many old customs. Bells and whips were used in the old days to drive out demons and bad spirits, so that there’s plenty of room for good fortune to join us on the path through the new year. And now we replicate the same notion with fireworks.
I fondly remember the Silvester parties my parents used to organize for their friends, and their friends for us. The flat is decorated with streamers and balloons, we all wore silly hats, which accompanied the silly games we played nicely, there was music playing in the background and Feuerzangenbowle and champagne.
The little ones, that’s my cousins and me, would get one tiny chocolate cups, the size of a shot glass, filled with Verpoorten eggnog, a thick creamy liquor. I would sip it all night, pinky pointing proper, feeling real adult. And subsequently cram the chocolate cup into my face unceremonially. When I was little, I couldn’t make it to midnight in one go, so often and against my will was made to nap because at midnight sharp the world outside would erupt in fireworks. And I wasn’t ever going to miss that. We would stand on the balcony on the 10th floor and cheer the spectacle with a glass of bubbly. This is how we welcome the new year in Germany. It’s one of the things I miss about my home country.
Let’s dive into some common German traditions to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
Fondue and Raclette lend themselves beautifully for Silvesternight. I’d go as far and state, it satisfies a beautiful core human trait: sitting in community with your loved ones around a fire (albeit a teeny tiny one in a can), sharing food, thought and laughter. Beyond that, it’s practical as well: the host won’t have to spend all night in the kitchen.
Also, fondue and raclette are slow food preparations. Most commonly we use cheese as the dipping medium. After that, the sky’s the limit: bread, meatballs and steak, vegetables, lunch meat, boiled potato cubes, more cheese. It’s a great way to spend an evening and pass the time in anticipation of the climax and its conclusion.
Lucky charms. The top hat of a chimney sweep, a four leafed clover, the ladybug, marzipan/almond paste piggy, horseshoe and the Fly Amanita, all those are traditional lucky charms in Germany. We gift them to each other for good luck and fortune for the coming year. And now that I type those words, I never stopped to wonder what the significance of each of those lucky charms is. I guess we’ll be finding that out at some point :0B
Bleigiesen – pouring lead is one of the oldest Silvester traditions. Some claim that the Roman’s used this modality to predict the future, although the origin of this tradition is a little fuzzy. All you need is a lump of lead, a spoon, a candle and a bowl of water. The lead is headed up in the spoon over the candleflame. Once it liquifies you pour it into the bowl of water. The idea is that the shape created through this process provides hints and clues to the next year. Whole books have been written about the meaning of all shapes imaginable. It’s a fun family activity where everyone gets to use their imagination. It you’re thinking this is sheer madness, who on earth would mess around with lead of all things, fret not. It was banned in 2018, tin and wax are good substitutes to carry on with the tradition.
Feuerzangenbowle – or Fire Pincer Punch is mulled wine with a rum-soaked sugarloaf lit above it. In Germany we differentiate between a bowle and a punch. Therefore, technically Feuerzangenbowle is a punch, because a bowle is served cold, while a punch or Grog is served warm.
It all starts with a dry red wine, wintery spices such as Cinnamon, Gloves, Allspice, Nutmeg and Oranges. Let that simmer for a while in a glass bowl or pot over a little table stove to keep it warm. Next affix your rack- that’s a modern update to the pincers used prior to that, over your bowl or pot. Gently lay the sugar loaf on top of that, drench it in room temperature high proof Rum and set it on fire. One could get lost in the flames. The hot caramelized sugar dripping into the mulled wine is fun to watch and a unique culinary experience.
The Feuerzangenbowle appears briefly in a book with the same title by Heinrich Spoerl, which has the main character Dr. Pfeiffer relive what it’s like to be in an educational institution after being homeschooled and missing out on all the fun his peers talk about while sitting around the punch bowl. As a pupil Dr. Pfeiffer turns into a prankster, causing much mischief and headaches to his teachers. The book was turned into a movie in 1944 and although the Feuerzangenbowle plays only a small part in it, it has cult status in German university fraternities to this day. The film was produces and released in Germany during the last years of World War II and has been called a "masterpiece of timeless, cheerful escapism." [Wikipedia]
In the book Dr. Pfeiffer reminisce: “The Feuerzangenbowle is something else. Not because of the hangover, that’s its own thing. In fact, it’s not even a punch, it seesaws between swill and witchcraft. Beer sinks into the legs. Wine lays down on the tongue. Schnaps drives into the brain. Yet the Feuerzangenbowle settles on the mind. Soft and warm it enfolds the soul, lifts our mortal burden, and dissolves everything into smoke and mist.”
Fireworks and champagne are a must. A few days before Silvester the first firecrackers can be heard in the neighborhood. Yet the real spectacle happens at 12:00 a.m. sharp. Living in a high rise on the 10th floor gave us prime seating. My family never engaged in setting off fireworks, we just watched everybody else do it. There is no entity involved organizing the show. Half the neighborhood would light the night on fire for about half an hour and the other half would hoot and holler, ooh and aaah in response. Or stand silently and smiling, arm in arm with your loved ones, champagne glass in hand feeling all the feels that Silvester brings up. I usually get a little teary at the prospect of a whole new year ahead with its endless possibilities and the fact that we made it through another one. And how could you not, if a transition is made so apparent in such an intentional way.
Happy New Year my friend. Wishing you health, wealth and happiness.
Karin