Same procedure as last year?

Same procedure as every year.

On New Year's Eve, many Germans from all backgrounds and walks of life gather around their TVs to watch a black and white English comedy skit of about 18 minutes in length.

The introduction to the sketch is narrated in German, the rest is in English and does not rely at all on understanding the conversation. It features an old lady, a butler, a tiger (dead) and four friends of the old lady (all dead, too).

Dinner for One is an unlikely German New Year's Eve tradition. Of course, our friends at TheLocal beat us to it but there is no shame in coming in second -- well, over here.

If you don't feel like watching it on youtube, just wait another year.

This being sad, we got a glimpse of the rest of German New Year's Eve television at a friend's last night.

And for Americans, the formal nature of German Public TV events to ring in the New Year requires some recalibration: people go in a black tie getup. Or, as one guest remarked: they all look like dressed for a funeral. But then, according to Nielson figures, the average age of German public TV viewers is about 60.

On the private, commercial channels, folks looked more like American revellers.

Fireworks in our small town were even bigger than in years before. In the new neighborhoods, where people with good jobs and children live, some of these private fireworks were so elaborate that we concluded: we have seen fireworks at official or sponsored events that were less fanciful.

From the k-landnews, we wish you a Happy New Year.