Well, it is a tradition in Germany. The short sketch comedy which was written in the 1920's has become a rather amusing tradition in Germany.
A little description from wikipedia:
The sketch presents the 90th birthday of elderly upper-class Englishwoman Miss Sophie, who hosts a celebration dinner every year for her friends Mr Pommeroy, Mr Winterbottom, Sir Toby, and Admiral von Schneider. (The plot has nothing to do with New Year's Eve. There is a "Happy new year" toast, but this is purely a reference to Miss Sophie's birthday.) The problem is that due to Miss Sophie's considerable age, she has outlived all of her friends, and so her equally aged manservant James makes his way around the table, impersonating each of the guests in turn. Miss Sophie decides on appropriate drinks to accompany the menu: Mulligatawny soup (Miss Sophie orders dry sherry), North Sea haddock (with white wine), chicken (with champagne), and fruit for dessert (with port) served by James, who finds himself raising (and emptying) his glass four times per course. That takes its toll, increasingly noticeable in James's growing difficulty in pouring the drinks, telling wine glasses from vases of flowers, and refraining from bursting into song. Even before the alcohol begins to exert its influence, he keeps tripping up on the head of a tiger skin lying on the floor between the dinner table and the buffet, although on one occasion he surprises himself by avoiding it.
But you will not understand until you watch it a half dozen times.
The video starts with an introduction in German but the sketch is performed in English.
This is the one that I wanted to embed but the codes does not work... Please go watch!
Dinner for One (HDTV 720p) - Der 90. Geburtstag von Seytania
Also, I found this link from the orininal source: NDR
The same procedure as every year!
Happy New Year.