Happy New Year Greeting in German

Before the new year begins, Germans greet either with:

Einen guten Beschluss! (a good closure) or

Einen guten Rutsch! (a good slide).

Only when the new year has actually begun, you will hear Ein gutes neues Jahr! (A happy New Year).

To either of these greetings, if you happen to be in Germany, you can reply with several general versions of “The same to you!” by saying:

Ebenso! or Gleichfalls! or Ebenfalls!

or more directly addressing the person:

Ihnen auch! (you too; the polite version) or

Dir auch! (you too; the familiar version)

Clover and pigs (as well as chimney sweeps) are among the many good luck charms we give away before New Year’s Day. Starting 2 January, these items usually go half-priced.

So tomorrow, Monday, 31 December, is your last chance to buy presents. Keep in mind that stores close by early afternoon.

Leap Year Superstitions

Timeanddate.com listed some international leap year traditions as well as some superstitions in its article.

As Germany was not mentioned in the article, I did my own research and found the following information on another website in German:

A German weather proverb claims: Schaltjahr wird Kaltjahr (leap year will be a cold year). This was true a few weeks ago when the temperature had dropped to – 15 C°.

Additionally, when the first day of a leap year falls on a Sunday (such as this year), then three Friday, the 13th come about (such as January, April and July of this year).

Fortunately, I do not believe in any of them. Otherwise I would not have booked my return flight from Japan to Germany for Friday, the 13th of April.

 

 

 

 

Chinese New Year or The Year of the Rabbit 4709

It’s that time of year again! If 2011 hasn’t gotten off to a good start for you, perhaps the year 4709, better known as the Year of the Rabbit or Hare, will be better.

February 3, 2011 starts the 15-day celebration. Here are some links if you are interested in more information:

The holiday spot,

123 chinese new year

Chinese fortune calendar

… and 祝 你 们 新 年 快 乐!

On the other hand, if you read the article Sign of the times: Astrology story soars like a comet, you might want to stick to the Chinese calendar anyway. Some astrology buffs had to take a hard blow earlier this month when they found out that astrologers have been reading the stars all wrong.

This would move me from Capricorn to Sagittarius, but only if I believed in it. On most days, I don’t.

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