The final countdown, goodbye and hello

Christmas is over and so is another year. 2009 the end. The Big Countdown slowly begins during the last days of the year. Newspapers produce statistics and lists of one kind or other. Dead people is a favourite. All TV channels feel the need to do year overviews of the most shocking, happy, tragic and elating events of the past year often related to specific programmes. Again, lots of dead people.

Although these overviews and backflashes aim to lead up to an all-time high climax at midnight on New Years Eve, somehow the twelve-o'clock 'big bang' becomes more and more of a disappointment as the years go by. Twelve o'clock is not nearly as late as it used to be, the evening increasingly short. The New Year exhilaration of wide-eyed expectation has disappeared. We state it is twelve, say happy New Year and fall in some sort of after-midnight vacuum as we slowly realise the New Year feels exactly as the old one.

Therefore, whilst the nation's television channels seem to compete over the worst offer of programmes ever, my father and I have decided there shall be no climax at all. New Year's Eve in Dutchland is an excellent occasion to be vulgar and sink to an all-time low. Large amounts of alcohol will obviously help the sinking. So will the greasy New Year's Eve pastries called oliebollen.

There is no translation for oliebol and I will therefore try and explain what they are. An oliebol is a pastry of dough mixed with beer and raisins. After the dough has risen, it is in spoonfuls fried in oil (olie is the Dutch word for oil). As one puts the dough in the oil the point is trying to create a sphere. After frying they are ready to be eaten with castar sugar. They are only for sale during the last months of the year and are traditional on New Year's Eve, like the Christmas pudding is at Christmas in Britain for example.

Also traditional are Russian salad, meat balls and warm baguettes with French cheese accompanied by champagne of course. That is how we will stuff ourselves getting increasingly pissed prior to the clock hitting midnight to ensure better times and behaviour in 2010. After all, if it is nearly impossible to sink any lower the New Year can only be an improvement to the old. Dreaming of new chances and better times it is cheers and a Happy New Year.