Greetings on this first day of 2010! I hope that your New Year’s Eve celebrations went well — I trust that you are not reading this first thing in the morning! ;-)
Like most of the other peoples of the world, this morning finds Germans waking up a bit worn out from the night before. Even if you only stayed home and watched Dinner For One, our traditional New Year’s Eve programming here in Germany, it is easy to be tired by setting the work of the old year aside.
For those of us who went out for a St. Silvester’s party or attended a fireworks show, well, thank goodness for coffee! ;-)
Of course, New Year’s Day is not all about recovering from New Year’s Eve. This is also the traditional day in Germany to say Thank You to the people who have served you throughout the past year. Small gifts for business partners, the newspaper delivery boy, your grocer, or the doorman at your building are customarily given on this day.
Many people also set their Neujahrsvorsätze, or New Year’s Resolutions. These are popular in Germany although not quite as institutionalized as a practice like they are in the U.S. or Great Britain.
Still, setting goals or making wishes for the year ahead is much talked about here, even if we know that the majority has no intention of following through on resolutions to eat right, lose weight, or give up one’s favorite time wasting hobbies ;-)
As for me, my Neujahrsvorsätze for MyGermanCity.com is to keep developing this site into an entertaining and informative portal for all things related to Germany.
In the year ahead, you will see more webcams, maps, and finally the photo galleries to give you an even closer look at what’s going on “now and then” in Germany. Also look forward for more developments of the Community area (whose gates will hopefully opened in 2010).
Until then, however, enjoy this day and the things here now. Make some Neujahrsvorsätze of your own regarding Germany, research them on MyGermanCity.com, and, of course, let me know what you miss.
I look forward to hearing from you as you achieve your resolutions.
All the best for you and yours,
Marcus
