...or Gutes Neues Jahr! Another unique saying of the Germans is Du hast Schwein gehabt (literally, 'You have had pig') which was said to denote someone's good fortune as being able to afford to eat pork at one time was considered quite providential.
This saying may be the forerunner of the German Glucksschwein, or lucky pig. Lucky pigs are available here in a variety of mediums: marzipan, bread, chocolate, plush varieties, wood, and plastic (like the one featured in the middle of a bouquet of flowers J bought for me). It was impossible to avoid pig displays in shop windows over the past week. Here's hoping that my little pig will ensure a lucky year!
Last night, Silvester, people in our village shot off fireworks for upwards of an hour to celebrate the New Year. The displays weren't the fire-marshaled type where professionals supervise the lighting of flammable chemical combinations at a safe distance from the crowd. Instead, everyday sort of people lit the fuses and threw the crackling pyrotechnics into the middle of the street and waited for the chemical reaction. J and I stood on our loggia and watched as fireworks, lit below us on the street and near to the canal, shot up into the air and burst into color. As we watched, several fireworks illuminated directly above our heads sending unburned powder showering onto our roof. It sounded as if our building was being shelled with artillery while being assailed by small arms fire. It was a great way to begin the New Year.
Take cover! *image by Lichtenwalnen
Lucky Pigs
Now for the resolutions, on which I've never been keen as they tend to fall to the wayside before Valentine's Day. In addition to the usual suspects (fitness among others), I've decided to add the following as this year's contenders:*Read all of the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction- luckily I've a head start on this one!
and
*Continue with my violin lessons though it's a bit grating to play 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' as a 30 plus woman.
Key events of 2008 for our family:
- Matty learned to speak English!
- Littlest attended German Kindergarten
- Log learned to read!
- Bop achieved the highest grade point average for her class.
- Trips to Disney (with Nana and Papa), Georgia, New Mexico, Virginia and a wonderful trip to Europe with my mother and sister
- Our move from New York to Germany
- J's new job!
Our family was truly blessed in 2008, and I pray our blessings will follow us into 2009.
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