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New Year’s Day Activities In German Posted by on Jan 1, 2016 in Holidays, Language, Traditions

People always have plenty of ideas for things to do on Silvester (New Year’s Eve)auf eine Party gehen (go to a party), Zuhause feiern (celebrate at home), Feuerwerk anschauen (watch the fireworks) – but what about on New Year’s Day?

New Year’s Day is called der Neujahrstag in German. Like in many other countries, Neujahrstag is a public holiday in Germany, so many businesses, banks, post offices and other stores are closed on this day.

So what kinds of things could you do on Neujahrstag? Here are some ideas – in German – to inspire you!

Visit family and friends – Freunde und Familie besuchen

Play board or card games – Brettspiele oder Kartenspiele spielen

Game of War | KLSP Meet & Street 3

Photo: johnragai on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0

 

Tidy up – aufräumen (especially after a NeujahrspartyNew Year’s party!)

Put Christmas decorations away – Weihnachtsdekorationen wieder einpacken

Party's end

Photo: qcom on flickr.com under CC BY-SA 2.0

 

Go for a walk – spazieren gehen
– at the beach – am Strand
– in the forest/woods – im Wald
– in the neighbourhood – in der Umgebung

Dog and owner on Ballykinler Beach

Photo: jdg40 on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0

 


Think about the year gone by –
auf das vergangene Jahr zurückblicken

 

Make new year’s resolutions – Neujahrsvorsätze machen
– quit smoking – mit Rauchen aufhören
– exercise more – mehr Sport treiben
– lose weight – abnehmen
– concentrate more on job – mehr auf den Beruf konzentrieren
– drink less – weniger trinken
– be more economical – sparsamer sein

 

Guter Vorsatz

Photo: 127889014@N04 on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0

 

Buy a new diary – Ein neues Tagebuch kaufen

Untitled

Photo: theaftershock on flickr.com under CC BY-ND 2.0

 

 

De-clutter – entrümpeln
What could you de-clutter? – Was könnten Sie entrümpeln?
– das Haus – the house
– Ihr Leben – your life
– der Keller – the cellar
– der Dachboden – the loft/attic
– das Büro – the office
– der Kleiderschrank – the wardrobe
– die Papiere/die Dokumente – the papers/documents
– der Laptop – the laptop
– der Schuppen – the shed

Shifting CDs and DVDs

Photo: anotherphotograph on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0

 

Do nothing! – Nichts tun!
– to relax – sich entspannen
– to watch TV – fernsehen
– to sleep – schlafen
– to nap – ein Nickerchen machen
– to read – lesen
– to eat – essen
– to sit on the sofa all day – am Sofa den ganzen Tag sitzen !

Thomas

Photo: adreson on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0

 

Send new year’s cards – Neujahrskarten senden
In Germany it is common to send Neujahrskarten – new year’s cards – to friends and family. These are sometimes sent instead of Christmas cards, and include a summary of the sender’s year, to keep friends and family up to date with all their news. It’s another way to reflect on the year gone by, and share your achievements, news, and ups and downs with loved ones. Phrases used in Neujahrskarten include Ein gutes und gesegnetes neues Jahr! (A good and blessed New Year!) and Prosit Neujahr! (Happy New Year!).

Liebes Tagebuch 133/365

Photo: dskley on flickr.com under a CC BY-ND 2.0

 

Whatever you choose to do today, I’d like to wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2016!

 

Prosit Neujahr!

Cheers!

Photo: yakobusan on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0

Constanze x

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About the Author: Constanze

Servus! I'm Constanze and I live in the UK. I'm half English and half German, and have been writing about German language and culture on this blog since 2014. I am also a fitness instructor & personal trainer.


Comments:

  1. Pius Gross:

    Thanks for the opportunity to learn new vocabulary

  2. Afshan:

    wonderful ideas. plz keep sending such mails. I’ll be more than
    thankful.My next topics for the class are: 1.einkaufen 2.essen und trinken

  3. Max Spring:

    “Sylvester” is actually spelled “Silvester”.

    “… auf einer Party gehen (go to a party) …” is actually “auf eine Party gehen”.
    “auf einer Party gehen” would sound like a “party where people do walking”.

    “Feurwerk anschauen” should be “Feuerwerk…” (missing e).

    “mehr auf Beruf konzentrieren” is missing the article “mehr auf den Beruf konzentrieren”.

    “am Sofa den ganzen Tag sitzen” literally says “to sit at the sofa all day”. Try “den ganzen Tag auf dem Sofa sitzen” (“on” -> “auf”, also this word order sounds better).

    Cheers 🙂
    -Max