My informant has a diverse familial background. Her maternal side of the family has been living in Pennsylvania for about 300 years, and is deeply entrenched in the Pennsylvania Dutch folkloric traditions. Her paternal family has come to America fairly recently – her grandparents emigrated from Italy shortly before her father was born.
Her family has a variety of New Year’s Eve traditions that they practice.
The first is that on New Year’s, my informant’s father gives each family member a silver coin. He used to give them an actual silver coin, but in recent years has been distributing dimes wrapped in foil. They then keep these silver (or silver wrapped) coins in their wallet for the rest of the year. Doing so ensures prosperity for the coming year. Each year, my informant gets rid of the old coin, and receives a new one. She isn’t sure where this tradition came from, but thinks it came from her Italian grandparents who have passed away. A Google search showed that this tradition is actually common in a lot of cultures. Even though she doesn’t know the origins of this tradition, she continues to believe in and practice it, which is a testament to the power of folklore and superstitions.
The second New Year’s tradition that my informant practices is that precisely at midnight, she opens the back door to let the old year out, and then opens the front door to let the new year in. She has seen this ritual being practiced elsewhere in the community, such as at her friends’ houses when she goes to celebrate New Year’s with them.
New Year’s is a liminal period, especially at midnight. Because it is a liminal time, there are many rituals associated with New Year’s. Oftentimes, there is a belief that your behavior on New Year’s will carry into the next year, such as in the case of the silver dime. It is a time of moving on, and of leaving behind the past, as my informant’s family does by ritualistically ushering out the past before welcoming in the present.
Informant: “So for Sylvester, in every major city, and pretty much all of Germany, you are allowed to shoot fireworks at the turn of midnight. And this day is a holiday, but some shops are open like, until 6:00pm. And then people will go to their houses, or friend’s houses, or even parties. But usually first, the evening starts with a dinner. Like, not just with your close family, but it is with your friends too.”
Interviewer: “And why do they call New Years ‘Sylvester’?”
Informant: “I have no idea, I mean I never thought of it as ‘New Years’. It is just the name we gave it. I think it is some religious guy… Oh! And on Sylvester everyone always watches Dinner for One. It is one of these things where you have a certain tradition, and you don’t really know where it comes from but you grow up with. And Dinner for One is a common thing for Sylvester because the butler in the show keeps saying ‘same procedure as every year?’ So he is referring to the routine, and that some things don’t change even though the year changes. I don’t know, it’s just one of these traditions that you don’t know where they come from, but you grew up with them so you don’t really question them. So yeah.”
Analysis:
Much like in America, Germany celebrates New Years by partaking in special events such as the shooting of fireworks at midnight and spending time with friends and family. On New Years it is important to spend time with friends and family because it is a way of expressing to them that you appreciate and love them, and you want them to be in your life at the start of the new year. This indicates that you are wishing your relationship with them to extend into the new year, and many years afterwards. The shooting off of fireworks is a sign of celebration, much like it is in America. However a difference I noticed when I celebrated New Years with my informant was that in Germany people are allowed to fire the big fireworks, but where I am from in America only city workers are allowed to shoot off the big fireworks because it is considered too dangerous for other people to do. Even though firework regulations change based on where you are in America, the fact that there are not as many regulations on fireworks in Germany indicates that the German government probably trusts it’s people with the explosives more than the American government does with their people.
In Germany, ‘New Years’ is referred to as Sylvester. My informant was not sure as to why this is, which indicates that the tradition of calling ‘New Years’ ‘Sylvester’ comes from old, long forgotten beliefs. In my research I discovered that the term ‘Sylvester’ is of Isreali origin because that is what the Isreali people call the New Years celebration. Sylvester was the name of the ‘saint’ and Roman Pope who was in charge of the Catholic church during the 4th century. Pope Sylvester is best known for convincing Constantine to forbid Jews from living in Jerusalem. All Catholic ‘Saints’ are awarded the day Christians celebrate and pay tribute to that Saint’s memory, and December 31 is Saint Sylvester Day. Due to the anti-Semitic tone of this legend, perhaps one of the reasons why my informant was not aware of the true origin of Saint Sylvester Day was because Germany has been very careful to distance themselves from their negative history in WWII and the Holocaust.
The final Sylvester tradition my informant mentioned was watching Dinner for One every year. This english film is played every hour on television during Sylvester and it is very popular in Germany because as my informant pointed out, it reflects on the idea that even though things are changing there are some things in life that will always remain. Some people feel anxiety towards change, therefore I can understand how in this idea that there is “the same procedure every year” is reassuring to those fearful of change. The film is especially popular among the wealthier German class because there are jokes in the film that only the wealthy would understand, such as the knowledge of serving the right kind of alcoholic drink with the food. This comes from upper class dining beliefs that for example, port is an after dinner drink therefore it should be served with the final dish, fruit. The film is also in English, which is a language that only educated German people would understand.
My informant was born in 1992 Hamburg, Germany. She studied at USC from 2010-2011 before moving to Brussels, Belgium to study international policy planning for her undergraduate degree. She lives part time in Brussels, Belgium and part time in her hometown Hamburg, Germany.
Every year when my informant would celebrate New Year’s with her family, they would have a rule on the first day of the year. Nothing was allowed to leave the house. They couldn’t take out the trash, take an item to a friend, nothing. Her parents told her it was about not starting off the year with a loss; what has been accumulated in the last year should be preserved. If the rule is broken, it is said that the new year will go poorly and the family will have bad luck. When the family really needed to take something out of the house, though, sometimes they would allow it as long as something else was brought into the house first to balance it out.
My informant said she always kind of resented the rule because she didn’t see the point of it and it inconvenienced her. She followed it to please her family, though, and admitted sometimes it was fun because it was something the family all did. In that way, it was a bonding experience.
I’d never heard of the superstition before but I think it’s interesting how it gives special importance to the first day of the year, as if what happens on that day will affect the whole year. Also interesting is the idea that physically keeping items in the house will mean a preservation of less tangible accomplishments and gains made in the previous year.
My informant states that Africans from what is now called Yorubaland brought Yemaya/Yemoja and a host of other deities/energy forces in nature with them, when they were brought to the shores of the Brazil as captives. She is the ocean, the essence of motherhood, and a protector of children. Once in Brazil, the myth was passed through oral tradition because the Portugese slave owners didn’t let them worship their deities openly. Her name slowly evolved into Yemanja over time. What is also interesting is after the Independence of Brazil, people were allowed to worship whatever deities and Gods they wanted. Yet Brazilians ended up enjoying the ritual of asking Yemoja for a blessing on New Years, as the ocean is a big part of Brazilian culture. Even during Brazilian carnivals, there was floats and imageries of Yemoja, as she is now a strong symbol of Brazilian culture.
My informant stated that his mother first told him about this because it’s tradition to wear white on New Year’s day and go to the beach and put flowers in the ocean to honor her and for her to bless your new year with good luck. Everyone in Brazil now do this as it is part of their New Year’s tradition. Not only do Brazilians do this during New Years, but also when family members pass away.
This is an interesting analyzation of how another culture adopted a different culture’s customs and ritual to fit their needs. The fact that sending flowers to the ocean to celebrate Yemoja brings good luck is another example of asking for protection. What is also interesting is whether one believes in the deity or not, everyone does it during Brazil as it has transformed into a tradition.
My friend’s grandfather would come over to our house every New Year’s Day for a celebration dinner. Every year, he would always bring collards and cabbage to dinner and everyone would eat more than their fair share. I remember thinking this was strange because I wasn’t the only one who didn’t particularly care for them, yet everyone ate a large helping at dinner. I finally asked my friend’s grandfather why he only brought collards and cabbage to dinner on New Years Day and he explained to me that if you eat collards and cabbage on New Years Day, it would bring you money throughout the year.
Of course, I was skeptical at first. However, one year I decided to give it a try and eat some collards and cabbage at New Years dinner. I didn’t come into a large sum of money, but I did have fairly good financial success throughout the year. I’ve eaten them every New Years Day since then and I haven’t had any dire financial trouble yet. I never asked my informant where she heard this piece of folklore from, but my entire family still makes collards and cabbage on New Years Day in hopes of good fortune in the upcoming year.
