If you´re just here for the fish, you can use this link to jump down to the Herring Salad recipe. It is a very special potato salad of which varieties exist throughout Northern Europe and along the northern coasts of the European continent. I will give you my family´s recipe, the way I prepare it every year. However, while you´re here, why don´t you stay a little longer to read about a German New Year´s Eve? Read how families usually celebrate it, New Year´s traditions in Germany and their meaning.

For plain German potato salad, click here.

German New Year´s Eve: Family traditions

How do Germans spend their New Year´s Eve? Young adults mostly go to parties on this evening. But how do families celebrate the beginning of the New Year? For families, New Year´s Eve in Germany is an evening of fun and games, of fortune-telling and fireworks, of watching one particular TV show and of eating. And of eating some more.

Disclaimer: This post is about the secular traditions that most German families follow on New Year´s Eve. There is, of course, a church service to end the old year and another one to begin the new. The minority of Germans who are christians are likely to attend at least one of the two. But very few of them reject the secular or even pagan traditions altogether, seeing them as folklore without actual meaning.

Herring Salad: A New Year´s tradition all along the coasts

Herring Salad is a traditional New Years´s Eve dish in many countries, especially in Northern Europe and along the coasts of the North Sea and Baltic Sea. The recipes differ from each other in detail, but what they all have in common is that it is, basically, a dish that combines Herring and Potatoes in a savory sauce.
There are two reasons why this is a New Year´s dish:

The practical reason is that pickled Herring and potatoes both are readily available in wintertime.

The other reason is that Herring symbolizes wealth. If you have ever seen a school of Herring, you can easily imagine why: They come in huge groups, glistening like the brightest polished silver. And they used to make a substantial part of a family´s yearly income in the coastal regions.

New Year´s traditions for good luck and prosperity

Wishing each other good luck especially in terms of material prosperity is an old custom that people have followed, and in some places still follow, all around the globe.

Singing at the doors – wishing wealth and demanding a share of it

There still are some well-known songs around that bear witness to this custom, often combining the good-luck-wishes with decisive requests to be given a share of the passing year´s wealth! An English example would be “We wish you a merry Christmas” with the demand of “some Figgy Pudding” (Christmas used to be the beginning of the New Year). “We won´t go until we get some, so bring some out here!” Another song that is well-known in the English speaking world is “Carol of the Bells” . It is originally a Ukrainian folksong that is not about Christmas, but about prosperity in the New Year. A German example would be :

“Gar fröhlich zu singen, so heben wir an: Was sollen wir bringen zum Neuen Jahr?

Viel Glück, Heil und Segen, und Arbeit fürwahr!”

(Now we begin a cheerful song to sing: What shall we bring for the New Year? Much luck, prosperity and blessing, and work indeed!”)

In some regions, children walk around the neighborhood to sing and ask for sweets on New Year´s Eve. In other regions, St, Martin´s Day (11th November) or St. Nicholas´Day (6th December), or Epiphany Sunday (6th January) are the days for that.

German New Year´s symbols for good luck: Pigs, mushrooms, chimney sweepers

Increase of livestock and prevention of disaster

In former times, wealth was not measured primarily in terms of money, though. Even more important was an abundance of livestock. That is why pigs are a German New Year´s Symbol (probably not just a German one). So is the four-leaved Shamrock, because it is as rare as good luck tends to be, and the chimney sweeper because he works to prevent disaster.

The Fly Agaric – a very ancient symbol

A kind of weird German New Year´s Symbol is the Fly Agaric – probably because of its hallucinogenic qualities. It is a good luck symbol on New Year´s cards, but Germans also like to use it in their Advent and Christmas decorations, though it is the most non-christian symbol one could imagine. In pagan times, the Winter Solstice was a time for fortunetelling, so people would visit a seer (who apparently used magic mushrooms in his or her work) to give them an outlook into the New Year.

Throw a shoe for love!

There were other methods as well that were used to foretell the fates for the beginning year. For example, unmarried women would throw one of their shoes back over their shoulder. If it landed pointing towards the door, she was going to leave the household, i.e. get married within the next twelve monts. If it pointed back into the room, she would remain a spinster for another year.

A must-do at German New Year´s celebrations: The pouring of lead (Bleigießen)

There is, actually, one fortune-telling custom that is essential to how Germans celebrate New Year´s Eve even today, and that is Bleigießen (“The Pouring of Lead”). You place a small quantity of lead on a spoon and then hold over a candle. Once the lead is completely molten, you toss it quickly into a bowl of cold water, which will create a bizarre shape. Now you hold that shape against the light of the candle – the shadow it projects onto the wall tells you what your future will bring!

The Pouring of Lead is one of the highlights of an average German New Year´s celebration. Hardly anyone takes the outcome seriously, but everyone will gather around the candle, eagerly watching each other performing the ceremony and giving advice on the melting and tossing and assisting in the interpretation of the silhouettes. Many people nowadays use beeswax instead of lead to avoid breathing in the toxic fumes. But when I was a child, we used lead and just performed the ceremony outdoors.

Christian, pagan, secular? Not a problem for most Germans

It is a bit odd that a mostly atheist nation collectively turns christian on Christmas with nearly everybody attending church as part of the tradition – and then on New Year´s Eve turns entirely pagan, or at least superstitious. Germans are traditionally into pluralism, so we do not tend to be offended by the confrontation with different opinions, beliefs or religions. (With the exception of someone supporting the wrong soccer team, of course.) It is seen as a sign of ethical and emotional maturity – and not of being lukewarm – to accept differences and be actively interested in what other people do and think .Around Christmas and New Year´s, almost everyone still does the same things and hardly anyone sees it as a problem to mingle christian, pagan and entirely secular symbols and traditions. If we don´t believe in a particular thing, we see it as a merely outward tradition, just part of the holiday fun. Some christians (and also some non-christians) do make a point of spending the night between the years in a particularly quiet and meditative way, not so much to avoid pagan traditions, but to reflect the past and the future year.

Fireworks: Chasing away the gloom

If you´re as interested in what the future holds as Germans are on New Year´s Eve, you don´t just want to see what is going to happen. You want to have an influence on the future! So, on New Year´s Eve, people chase away the winter demons – or, today, chase away any frustrations they may have suffered in the passing year. To do that, our method of choice is to indulge heavily in private fireworks. New Year´s Eve is the only day in the year when private fireworks are legal without special permission in Germany.

Quieter alternatives

In larger towns and cities, things do tend to get a bit out of hand. So if you are planning to visit Germany on this day, you should ask some locals where to go so you can watch the fireworks, or take part in them, without getting into dangerous situations. On the other hand, there are lots of quieter, but no less impressive events to visit on New Year´s Eve in Germany. For example, you could go to Leipzig and attend the concert at the Gewandhaus, one of Europe´s most notable concert halls. Traditionally, the Gewandhausorchester performs Beethovens 9th Symphony “An die Freude”. If you are even in the least interested in classical music, this is a concert you will never forget. – But whereever you go, there will always be things to do on New Year´s Eve in Germany that are worth your while!

Cheers to New Year – Prost Neujahr!

For children, and for many adults, it´s a point of honor to stay up at least until midnight, and to take part in the clinking of champagne (or orange juice) glasses and shouting “Prost Neujahr!” (“Cheers to New Year!”). Which we absolutely must do exactly at 00.00 sharp.

To be quite sure about the right time, many people turn on the TV or radio where there is a countdown to midnight. Only the Deutschlandfunk radio program stands out – they go very quiet and when the clock reaches midnight, they play the original string version of the national anthem. But everybody else shows a clock or counts down audibly, and at midnight you can hear a champagne bottle pop open and the crackling of the fireworks begin!

Dinner for one – a compulsory TV show on a German New Year´s Eve

Since an evening can get very long if you are bent on staying up until midnight no matter how tired you get, there are many things to do to pass the time. This is the perfect night for board games, but also for charades and similar pastimes. And for fortunetelling, as I said. Not many people will watch TV, unless they spend the night by themselves. But there is one TV show that is more or less compulsory at a German New Year´s Eve. Its name is “Dinner for One”. The whole program is, in fact, in English. It is an 18 minute story about “Miss Sophie” who celebrates her 90th birthday. I think it´s best if you watch it yourself! You can use this link to “Dinner for One”, aka “Der 90. Geburtstag”. Please do not forget to turn on the English subtitles for the introduction, as it provides some vital information!

A German New Year´s Party Buffett

Food at a German New Year´s party is typically served in a way that encourages socialising. In more recent years, Raclette has become a custom that many Germans engage in on New Year´s Eve. Years ago, it used to be Fondue. Both are ways of preparing food that take particularly long and are done while sitting at the table together.

Instead, or even in addition, you are likely to find a buffett from which to serve yourself. There will be pickled gherkins and silver onions, olives, garlic bread, “Russian Eggs” (hardboiled eggs cut in halves, you take out the eggyolk and mix it with hot mustard, oil, salt, pepper and sweet paprika powder, then put it back into the egg halves) and the like. If the party is more down-to earth, there will be sausages, meatballs, and snacks like chips etc. If it´s a bit more sophisticated, there will be all sorts of homemade finger food, probably including some fish or even caviar. In both cases, there will probably be soup and salads. One of them is sure to be Herring Salad! If there is just a small family celebrating among themselves, Herring Salad may in fact be the whole supper.

Herring salad

Now here´s the recipe – please remember that there are countless variants of this dish. I´m giving you our family recipe. For a vegetarian alternative, just leave out the herring (the salad will need a bit more salt and possibly some more onions and gherkins in this case)! You can offer it on a separate plate. Even without vegetarian guests or household members, this is one traditional way of serving the salad.

Ingredients

Potatoes (hard boiling or medium) – 500 g

Beetroot – 500 g (if you want to save time, you can buy ready-boiled beetroot in a vacuum bag, or even use pickled beetroot. In the latter remember that you may need less salt for your salad).

Eggs – 4 whole eggs

Pickled gherkins – 200g or any amount you like

Half a cucumber

A medium sized onion

One stick of celery

One or two apples, a bit zesty

Sourcream -300 ml

Mustard – 4-5 tablespoons (mild or medium hot, but not sweet)

Herring, pickled or in oil or brine – 200g

Some salt and pepper, depending on your preferences. Possibly some vinegar (apple cider or white wine vinegar).

What to do

Wash beetroot and potatoes. Do NOT peel or cut them yet, they would lose a lot of their flavor and nutritional value if you did it before cooking them! Put beetroot into one pot, potatoes into another, add water so they are 3/4 covered, put the lids on and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes for ca. 15 -25 minutes depending on how hardboiling they are. Cook beetroot for about 30 minutes.

While both are cooking, do the following things:

Boil the eggs for 5 minutes and let them cool off, then peel them.

Peel cucumber and apples.

Cut celery and gherkins into slices. Cut apples and cucumber into small dice, onion into very small dice.Slice the herring (let it drip dry beforehand).

Stir mustard into the sourcream. Add salt and pepper if necessary.

When the potatoes and beetroot are cooked, peel them and cut them into dice (not too small). Dice the boiled eggs, too.

Put everything into a salad bowl, add the sourcream-mustard sauce. Stir carefully (don´t mash up the potatoes). Now try! If it´s not spicy enough, but there seems to be enough salt, you might like to add a little bit of vinegar. This may be the case especially if neither the herring nor the beetroot were pickled.

That´s it, enjoy your Herring Salad and have a very happy New Year!

What are your New Year´s traditions? What did you think of the recipe after trying it? Do you have your own family recipe for Herring Salad or other traditional New Year´s dishes? Do leave a comment below the subscription form! By the way: If you subscribe, I will use your information only to let you know when there is a new post on this blog.

Would you like to try more German wintertime food? Here is my recipe for cabbage stirfry with turmeric. I will post further easy and thrifty wintertime recipes in the course of January and February.