Festivals at the turn of the year already celebrated the Germanic tribes and the Romans. The feast day has the common name Silvester in Germany from the first holy pope in history, who did not suffer martyrdom. To ensure that the New Year’s Eve party on his name day does not turn into a martyrdom for you too, you should pay attention to the following in order to avoid accidents and dangers and to be able to welcome the New Year with a happy, carefree New Year’s Eve celebration. Because while statistics show relatively little happens before 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, emergency rooms are habitually full afterward.
New Year’s Eve: stay away from homemade rockets
What would New Year’s Eve be without fireworks? Originally, evil spirits should be driven away with this. But the colorful and loud spectacle can easily turn into a nightmare – especially young people try again and again to tinker with New Year’s Eve firecrackers themselves. These attempts often go wrong: fingers or hands are torn off and burns can even result in death. Hearing damage and eye injuries are also typical and dangerous injuries on New Year’s Eve. But it is not only home-made firecrackers that harbor risks; rockets that have not been approved by the authorities should also be left out of the supermarket.
Rules of conduct for fireworks
On New Year’s Eve, take special care that the bottle or vessel from which the rocket is launched cannot fall over. A sufficiently large safety distance is essential for both humans, animals and buildings or cars – it is not uncommon for misdirected firecrackers to cause house fires on New Year’s Eve. Children should always be supervised and only use firecrackers and sparklers under supervision. Duds should be disposed of and not relit. Above all, an enlightening conversation should be held with young people, because this age group often goads each other into unreasonable behavior – especially when alcohol is involved.
Smoke-free into the new year
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to quit smoking. In itself, the time for a cigarette-free new beginning also offers itself, especially since one certainly finds many fellow sufferers who join the project. The disadvantage is that especially on New Year’s Eve many occasional smokers take advantage of the exuberant mood and gladly accept the offered cigarette or indulge in a cigar to celebrate the day. Those who are serious about their New Year’s resolution should celebrate with non-smokers or take advantage of the ban on smoking at public festivities.
Pop the corks on New Year’s Eve
It’s a similar story with alcohol: the classic way to toast the new year is with sparkling wine. But often on New Year’s Eve it does not remain with a glass. Many are already so drunk at midnight that they can no longer handle firecrackers responsibly. Anyone who already feels drunk should therefore avoid firing any rockets on New Year’s Eve. Since the ability to react is significantly reduced, it is easy to hold a firecracker in the hand for too long. When people are under the influence of alcohol, fisticuffs and brawls often occur, especially at large, public New Year’s Eve parties. If you notice that the mood is changing, it is therefore better to withdraw from the crowd and look for a quiet place. Sometimes, especially among young people, so much alcohol flows on New Year’s Eve that alcohol poisoning is imminent and the evening ends in the hospital. To prevent this from happening, don’t drink on an empty stomach and don’t drink wildly – and above all, know your limits.
After the New Year’s Eve party
In addition, you should think in advance about whether you will spend the night with your host after the New Year’s Eve party, join a carpool or how it is about a special schedule of public transport systems on New Year’s Eve. It is also best to save the number of the cab call in your cell phone before setting off for the party. You should only drive if you are absolutely sober – even small amounts of alcohol impair your ability to react, even before you notice it. Add to this fatigue, bad weather conditions, slippery roads, broken glass on the road and, last but not least, many drunk pedestrians.
One-night stand on New Year’s Eve
Some may deliberately not plan how to get back to their own home.However, if you want to end New Year’s Eve in someone else’s bed, it’s best to pack condoms to avoid a rude awakening the next day. Studies also show that more and more young people are having frequent unprotected intercourse. Statistics show that STIs are also on the rise in industrialized countries. The infection rate with HIV is also rising again year after year, and treatment methods are still nowhere near good enough to deal with the issue without worry.
New Year’s Eve and hearing
New Year’s Eve is often a particular strain on the ears: Every year, loud music and especially firecrackers exploded too close cause tinnitus, burst eardrums or other, sometimes irreparable hearing damage. Those who suffer most are children, because they are not aware of the danger, and young people, because they quickly become careless. Last but not least, animals suffer from the banging on New Year’s Eve.
