In France, from January 1, it is the New Year’s Eve.
The French love to give a small room to certain family members or certain professions.
It is also a great tradition in Belgium where it is called the dringuelle.
In Germany, it’s very “pig”
If you know Germans, don’t expect to receive money!
Your German friends will come to you, all smiles, and reach out to you a pig with often a 4-leaf clover in the snout.
Pig in marzipan, chocolate, keychain, soap … etc.
This is the Glück Schwein (the lucky pig).
But why are the Germans giving each other pigs for the New Year?
Small German course:
– Pig thought Schwein.
– To have luck is said “schwein haben” (to have pig).
In the Middle Ages, when there were games in towns and villages, the loser always got a tiny little piglet, it was a way of making fun of the loser.
Except that the piglet was not complicated to feed since it was given the leftovers and it grew very quickly, which then made it possible to sell it in the markets or to feed the whole family for several days.
In times of famine, someone who received a piglet after losing at a game fared better than others.
This is why the expression “to have pig” has become synonymous with luck in Germany.
You will see them all over the country and you are not immune to receiving a German greeting card with a huge pig on it!