Happy New Year

[Eva Elisabeth]

Very interesting, Betty. Are there any other American "good luck" traditions on New Year? Or symbols at all?

Germans traditionally give each other a "Glücksbringer" (a "bringer of luck") on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. The most popular "Glücksbringers" are:

- a "Glücksschwein" ("lucky pig" - and the German phrase "Schwein haben", literally "to have pig", actually means "to be lucky", also you wish "viel Schwein" "much pig" = "good luck")
- four-leaf clover
- toadstools (a fortunate person may be called a "Glückspilz" = a "lucky mushroom")
- a chimney sweep
       
Often you will find combinations, e.g. marzipan piglets munching on a little four-leaf clove with a toadstool attached to it, or chimney sweep figures in little pots of four-leaf clover.

[Less popular for New Year, but in general:
- a horseshoe (must be put up with the opening atop, otherwise the luck will fall out).
- a ladybug]


One popular and traditional fun party game on New Year's Eve is "Bleigießen", Molybdomancy. Everyone melts a bit of lead (yes, it is toxic!) in a spoon over a candleflame and pours it into a bowl of water. Then you try to find out in the included chart what the resulting figure tells about "your" year to come. E.g. the elephant means strength, the golfer success in something, and the dog a new friendship.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy
       

I post this because I love to learn about foreign traditions, and maybe some of you do, too. Now - please tell me, are there any "lucky" or other New Year traditions in the US? Thanks - I'd love to know!