祝 你 们 新 年 快 乐 = Happy New Year to you all !

Silvester is the last day of the year, 31st December, known in English as New Year’s Eve.

Many people hold or visit parties on this evening, others spend the evening with their families at home.

Popular things to eat on this evening are raclette and fondue. At midnight everyone goes out onto the streets and lets of fireworks to celebrate the New Year.

A long running television programme is the Silvesterstadl shown on the public broadcast ARD, which runs for about 4 hours and contains traditional folk music as well as sketches and interviews, many of which are connected with Silvester traditions.

The most well-known television programme on this day must, however, surely be Dinner for One – a 20-minute sketch with Freddie Frinten and May Warden which is shown every year on several channels which over the years has become a traditional part of Silvester viewing for a large part of the German population.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Pension-Sprachschule.de would like to wish you

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Chimney sweeps are a good-luck charm for the New Year. When I was a child, I was told if we happened to see three chimney sweeps at once, we would have especially good luck during that year. Nowadays, finding one chimney sweep walking on the street is a rare occasion….

When was the last time you saw a chimney sweep?

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!

Hugo weit weg von Zuhause ist das erste Buch für Kinder, das in Deutsch und Finnisch erschienen ist.

Eka Lastenkirja, joka ilmestyi saksan ja soumen kielellä.

“Eine zweisprachige Geschichte über die Abenteuer eines kleinen finnischen Elchs in Deutschland.

Der junge Elch Hugo schläft in Rovaniemi im hohen Norden Finnlands in einem Container ein. Er wacht mitten auf der stürmischen Ostsee auf und bemerkt, dass er auf einem Schiff unterwegs nach Deutschland ist. Glücklicherweise lernt Hugo in der Kleinstadt Bechersbach die fröhlichen Froschbrüder Hans und Horst kennen. Aber wie kommt Hugo wieder nach Hause? Es ist nicht einfach, als verlorener Elch in einem fremden Land zu sein…”

http://www.hugo-der-elch.com/

The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter; the fleshy, in summer. I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood.

John Burroughs (1837 – 1921)