The Swiss call December 31st Silvester. Sylvester?! Stallone or the Looney Tunes cat? Those are the only two Sylvesters I know. Still, I’m pretty sure New Year’s Eve wasn’t named after either one of them. So why is New Year’s Eve called Silvester in Switzerland? Simply said, December 31st is the day a feast for the saint Pope Sylvester I is celebrated. Which is why since around 1582, December 31st is called Silvester. Why an “i” and not a “y”? Your guess is as good as mine.
While New Year is celebrated pretty much the same all over the world with fireworks there are differences. Some differences are from country to country others are family to family.
Traditional New Year’s in Spain
Ben told me, when he was in Spain he learned what people did there on New Year’s Eve. On each bell stroke at midnight you pop a grape into your mouth and eat it. If you manage to eat all twelve grapes you will have good luck that year. But the way I see it the luck doesn’t really start with eating the grapes. I would suppose that your luck starts if you are able to buy 12 small grapes. Everyone wants small grapes! That way your chances of being able to eat them all would be better than if they were larger. That’s why everyone buys their grapes as early as possible before only the big ones are left.
Tradition in the States
The Ball Drop in Time Square. I’ve never been there to see it drop 43 meters in 60 seconds. I don’t have to be standing outside with a million other people. It works for me to just see it on TV.
As a kid growing up in the States we never really celebrated New Year’s big. As a child I always went to bed early. As a teenager I did a lot of babysitting while others went out to have fun. When I got out of the babysitting age I would stay up until midnight and have a glass of champagne. Not really what you would call a party animal but that’s just the way I am.
Lots of people celebrate New Year with a party. During college when Ben was there we were invited to a party at a friend’s house. I believe there were hats, horns and stuff like that. The thing Ben and I remember most was a cheese fondue bubbling away by itself in a corner. Maybe the hostess just wanted to make their Swiss guest feel “at home”. But in a corner, really? It was one of many strategically placed appetizers and finger food. When you walked by the fondue you could pick up a piece of bread and dip it in and continue on your way.
Swiss would choke on the idea of a fondue appetizer. Ben stayed cool and didn’t make a big deal of it. We did, however, try it. It wasn’t very good, oily on the top and burnt on the bottom. A good fondue needs to be stirred continually otherwise mishaps like splitting and burning can happen. Save the fondue, the party was not very memorable.
New Year in Switzerland.
It looks like the Swiss in general are a party going lot. Tons of advertisements for New Year’s Eve dinners out and dance parties are in the papers. Once Ben and I went out to dinner on New Year’s Eve. But that was just dinner not an advertised dinner with music and dancing.
We went to a restaurant on the lake of Biel in the French speaking part of Switzerland. There weren’t many people there I guess because it was early; around 7pm. Most of the action starts about 11pm on New Year’s. We noticed a couple sitting at a table near us speaking English. They were having difficulty communicating with the waiter in French. Ben offered to help and we got into a conversation. They were from Australia. This was their New Year celebration. Ben said they could come home with us to celebrate Swiss-Style which they accepted. It was a lovely chance encounter and we kept in touch with them per mail for many years after.
Our Swiss Tradition
As I mentioned before, I am not the “party hardy” type, luckily neither is Ben. Our family tradition is very laid back, very.
Around 10 or 11 pm we would go to Ben’s parent’s apartment. His Sister and her family would come too. There would be empty card tables set up to be used later. The TV would be on so we would all make ourselves comfortable on the sofa.
At some point we would turn on the 1963 filming of the comedy sketch “Dinner For One”. It is shown on the German, Austrian and Swiss channels throughout the day. That way you can see the 15 minute theater piece any time and as often as you wish. It’s with Freddie Frinton as James and May Warden as Miss Sophie. There’s an introduction in German but the rest is in English. Still the whole story is so simple that everyone can understand what’s going on.
The main lines are “The same procedure as last year?” “The same procedure as every year, James.” We all laugh every time James trips over the head of the tiger rug. If you want to enjoy it now here’s the Youtube link:
Almost New Year…
Around 11.30 pm the TV is changed to the Swiss channel. While waiting for the New Year to start, there is usually some kind of musical broadcast. Lots of Swiss stars smiling and singing to a large studio audience also smiling and singing along.
Then we start filling the tables with the midnight buffet which consists of zupfe and luncheon meat. Of course, the champagne is also set out to be popped open at the stroke of midnight. If there are any children celebrating with us they are given Rimuss and not champagne. Rimuss is an alcohol-free bubbly drink that looks like champagne. They advertise “Whenever there is something to celebrate. Everyone can click glasses!” Ben likes Rimuss, I don’t like it that much – way too sweet.
Then we wait for midnight and watch TV. The Swiss TV switches live to some church with a large group of people in front, usually standing in snow. In the corner of the TV screen a digital clock can be seen counting backwards. The TV moderator and all the people celebrating there do the countdown with the church bells ringing in the background. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!!
I have no idea what happens after that on TV; we are too busy popping the cork of the champagne. Then we make sure it doesn’t bubble over and spill onto the floor but into the glasses. We click glasses, wish a happy New Year and kiss everyone in the room. Then we grab a bite to eat and settle back down on the sofa and watch TV.
It may sound boring to you. But believe me, that’s the best way to start a New Year and is just the way I like it.
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