New Years In Liechtenstein
This is my last article of 2001. Where I am from, we party out the old year and bring in the New Year with lots of drinks, song, music and gaiety. We also make a few New Years promises that we invariably fail to keep.
In Liechtenstein, they do things a bit different. In the village of Triesenberg, the first person to rise on New Years Morning is named “Tillitap.” This means that person was “the one to tap in the hallway.” The laziest or last person to rise was called “Silvester.” The unmarried men of the village would gather on New Years Eve in village center and then visit all the homes of unmarried girls. New years Day was the time for the children to visit their Godparents and receive a small gift from them. But New Years celebrations were at one time not over after New Years Day. On January 6th, the "party of the Christmas tree" was held in the Kulm restaurant. There was a decorated Christmas tree on the dance floor. During the festivities, the branches of the tree were auctioned off. When World War II started, this party was discontinued.
My friend, Nicole Grassner in Triesenberg says that on New Years Day they go from house to house and say:
“Wiar wünschn dr äs guats neus Jahr, dasst lang läbscht, gsund blibscht und in Himmäl kuscht”.
(We wish you a good New Year, that you’ll live long, be healthy and that you can go to the sky.)
This is in Alamania Dialect of German that is spoken in Liechtenstein and is different from the regular German spoken elsewhere.
“can go to the sky” means that after you pass away, you can go to God ( who lives in the sky ). They then receive a small cash gift from the people of the house.
New Years Eve parties are held in Liechtenstein just like any where else. Liechtenstein has one ski area at Malbun 17 km from the capital, Vaduz. Malbun ski slopes, while not for thrill seekers, has good skiing for families and beginners and great scenery. In the Eighties, Malbun was noted for its very rambunctious New Year celebrations.
The year 2001 was a dramatic year for Liechtenstein. On 11 February 2001, a new government took power. The Progressive Citizen's Party (FBP) won 13 seats while the Patriotic Union (VU) got 11 and the Free List (FL) 1 seat. They quickly set about making some changes. But that will be looked at in future articles.
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