Symbols
Midnight is often marked by fireworks and fire crackers. Many people drink and toast with champagne or other sparkling wine. People may give each other gifts of four-leaf clover as a symbol of good luck for the New Year. Fireworks, fire crackers, sparkling wine and the four leaf clover are seen as symbols of New Year's Eve.
In some areas, people take part in a form of fortune telling known as Bleigiessen. They melt small quantities of lead on a silver spoon above a candle. The molten lead is then tipped into a bowl of cold water where it solidifies. The shape that the lead takes on is a symbol for the fortunes of the coming year.