Bleigießen (Molybdomancy) is a North European New Year’s Eve tradition that goes back all the way to  Ancient Greece.

 
After you melt a piece of lead or tin on a spoon over a candle you drop it in a bowl of water. You then interpret the resulting shape directly or hold it up to a light to interpret the shadow.

Kits are sold with a list of interpretations – but there are also many online resources that include further suggestions, e.g., List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4


I’m very grateful to my family (my mom, dad, brother and nephew) for playing along to create this video for you over the Christmas holidays in Berlin.


The peppy song is “Just Don’t Care” by Jason Matherne: https://soundcloud.com/goonygoogoo-productions


Happy New Year!

Frohes Neues Jahr!

Be Brave and Be Kind.

Bleigiessen – A German New Year’s Eve Tradition



And if you watched all the way to the end you’ll get a little bonus post-credits 3-second clip of my brother saying: “I have the feeling that this is a rather inexact science.” 

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