Appreciating the Holiday Joy in Germany

We ordinarily celebrate New Year with a big bang, often with fireworks and wild revelry with friends. But come New Year's Eve, most Germans decide to stay at home with their family; though they try to keep it simple, their dinner table is always a banquet with special German courses prepared for a special day. Yes, Germans are also sociable and family-centered, and they absolutely know how to celebrate fetes with sheer sincerity.

New Year's Eve is known as Silvester, named after a pope in the 4th century who at last became a saint. Saint Silvester was a legendary inspiration for the December 31 holiday. You may track down Germans with family or friends in dinner balls or parties, raising glasses of bubbly champagne and cheering for the imminent year.

As soon as the clock hits 12 midnight, fireworks radiates the skies with wonders and blissful noises. But if you like to discover your luck, Germans play a game called Bleigießen. They melt a spoonful of lead and spill it into a pot of water. Diverse shapes and figures will be formed, from which people need to make their own reflections. What you find out in molten lead tells you who you are and what you'll be in the future year. Germans do have an appealing approach to celebrate New Year.