The German New Year’s television tradition begins with the comedy sketch Dinner for One.
The sketch features an elderly woman, Miss Sophie, celebrating her 90th birthday with a formal dinner. Because her four invited friends have died, her butler, James, impersonates each guest and drinks each guest’s toast. The repeated line “The same procedure as every year” became strongly associated with the program.
Although the sketch is in English, it became a major German television tradition after a 1963 recording by the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk. It is also broadcast in several other European countries around New Year’s Eve.
The program’s unusual status comes partly from the contrast between its British setting and its enormous popularity in German-speaking television culture. It is often described as one of the most repeated television programs in the world.