"The traditional New Year’s folklife in the Oley Valley and Oley Hills, as elsewhere among the Pennsylvania Dutch, was as follows: On New Year’s Eve, German dialect speaking neighbors of Pennsylvania Dutch descent would gather at the home of the New Year’s Wisher, who had memorized the Pennsylvania German dialect “New Year’s Chant” and was ready to call on all his farm neighbors.
The highlight of this traditional blessing was when the chanter reached the final verse and asked the homeowner if there was any reason why they should not “shoot in” the New Year for his household. If the owner gave permission, the group of well wishers shot off their shotguns in the midnight air, breaking the silence of the countryside at each home."
Essentially this is a counterpart to the English custom of wassailing, with Germanic roots. A similar custom is practiced in one small North Carolina town, in an area also settled by Germans in the colonial era. Read the full article at the Boyertown Area Times.
News and stories for and about Heathen folk, traditions, and communities.
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