See you in 2014

When I started this blog I meant to document life in North Germany as I know it.

Well, I have not kept word and neglected this blog. That will change next year! I will show you  North Germany, starting with some places not far from where I live.

While I am writing this, many people are already shooting rockets into the sky and you can hear banging all around you. My dog has already found its place under my desk and I know that she will not dare going outside until tomorrow morning, being terribly afraid of the noises.

New Year’s Eve is a time for partying. Many people are going out to balls or dances or simply to the next night club. Others, like us, are celebrating at home. We will have a fancy dinner, some nice white wine and champagne at midnight. Of course we will then have the obligatory Berliner.

It is tradition, when you have a larger party, to fill one of the Berliners with mustard. There is no special meaning to that, it’s just a way to make the evening a bit more interesting.

Another important thing tonight is “Bleigießen”. You melt some lead (you can buy it in any supermarket or drug store) over a candle and then pour the liquid into ice-cold water. It will immediately take some strange shape that are supposed to tell you what will happen in the coming year. My mother swears til today that she knew I would make her a grandmother when she saw the shape I made in 1983.

Traditionally, when I was a child we would eat a carp on New Year’s Eve. I still remember it swimming in the bathtub two nights before the event. My grandfather would kill it that night and boil it in water spiced with vinegar and bay leaves. It would be served with potatoes and whipped cream mixed with horseradish. These days we are having salmon instead. It has much less bones and tastes less of muddy water.

Now I wish you all a happy New Year!

Have a good time tonight and a wonderful, healthy and special 2014