Sylvester 1960/61
Maker: Hoffman Family
Date Made: 1960 - 1961
Country: German Democratic Republic
Materials: 8mm; silent; b&w
Duration: 08:50
Collection/Series: Hoffman Home Movie Collection
Accession Number: 2009.032.018
Home movie of East German family New Year’s Eve celebration. Older couple in miniature party hats enter, waving, bowing, and smiling. Young boys in masks and funny hats greet them. Close-up of spinning Weihnachtspyramide (Christmas pyramid, a traditional candlelit decoration) depicting a nativity scene. Man places small decorative candle or figure on table, strikes a match and attempts to light it, apparently unsuccessfully. Father, in false beard and beret, drinks from punch cup. Mantel clock reads 9:00. Man ladles punch from punch bowl. Camera pans around room to show various guests and family members. Clock reads 11:59. Guests toast the camera and one another with champagne flutes; children drink from cups with handles. Christmas tree decorated with tinsel in background. Father takes cigarette from decorative dispenser box on top of radio cabinet. Close-ups of model train set running on railroad track with lighted signals. Handwritten title cards reads “ENDE” (THE END).