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Hogmanay! How The Scots Celebrate New YearThe Scots are famous around the world for the way they celebrate the coming of a New Year through the annual festival of Hogmanay. The mark of this ancient Scottish custom can be found on many New Year’s celebrations. A consistent theme in every Hogmanay tradition is that the new year must begin on a happy note, with a clean break from all that may have been bad in the past year. It is from this underlying theme that the most common of all Hogmanay traditions, the New Year resolution, has its root.The origin of the name "Hogmanay" is the subject of some controversy. Even the spelling of the word can create argument (e.g., Hogmanay, Hogmany, Hogmaney, etc.) Many people hold that it comes from the Anglo-Saxon “Haleg Monath” (Holy Month), but the problem with this is that Hogmanay, as a celebration, pre-dates both the Angles and the Saxons. The next best answer is that what the Angles and Saxons mistakenly took as Haleg Monath was actually the Gaelic “Oge Maidne” (New Morning). The Scandinavian word for the feast preceding Yule was "Hoggo-nott" while the Flemish words (many having come into Scots) "hoog min dag" means "great love day". Whatever the name’s origin, Hogmanay has been an important part of Scottish culture for many centuries. That there is confusion over the name is not surprising given Hogmanay’s ancient beginnings and the variety of languages that have helped, most often orally, to preserve it (English, Old Scots (Lowland Scots), Gaelic (Highland Scots), and the language of the Picts(?).) Some traditions are for before midnight, such as cleaning the house on December 31st (including taking out the ashes from the fire, in the days when coal fires were common). There is also the superstition to clear all debts before one sees the New Year. This is part of a clean break and a fresh start. Ringing bells, the firing of guns and cannon, and the sounding of ships’ sirens usually mark midnight. Immediately after midnight, it is traditional to sing Robert Burns' "For Auld Lang Syne". (Burns claimed that the song was based on an earlier fragment and the tune was certainly in print over 80 years before he published his version in 1788.) A large part of the Hogmanay partying that continues very much today is to welcome friends and strangers with warm hospitality and, of course, a kiss to wish everyone a good New Year. The principal attitude is to clear out the vestiges of the old year and welcome in a fresh New Year on a happy note. "First Footing" (that is, the "first foot" in the house after midnight) is still common in Scotland. Tradition claims that the first person to cross the threshold at Hogmanay brings all the luck, good or bad, for the coming year. So, men leave their own house after midnight and visit those neighbors who they know will welcome them. In doing so, it is important that they bring with them gifts; universally, the minimum requirement is a bottle of whisky and a bannock (fruit bun) of oatcake (or black bun or shortbread, depending on the region.) Those who stay at home generally hope that, to ensure good luck for the house during the coming year, the first foot will belong to a dark-haired “stranger” who brings gifts. The “dark-haired” is thought to be owed to Viking days when blond strangers arriving on your doorstep often meant trouble! Also, he cannot be a doctor, a minister, or a gravedigger nor have eyebrows that meet in the middle! In earlier times, the gifts would also include silver (used to be a sixpence) to mean the household would not be short of money for that year, a lump of coal to mean warmth throughout the coming year, and some salt. But these days, whisky and perhaps shortbread are the only items still prevalent (and available). Tradition dictates that the First Footer can claim a kiss from every female in the house. For many years, it was customary to lavish gifts on friends and relatives on the first of January. In fact, Hogmanay held such importance for Scotland that, until the 18th century, the number and quality of gifts given far outshone those given at Christmas. Until very recently, some parts of Scotland still practiced the giving of tokens, called "Hogmanays", to children. "Handselling" was the custom of gift giving on the first Monday of the New Year but this has died out. The New Year celebration traditions of yesteryear saw bonfires, rolling blazing tar barrels down hills, tossing torches, and people covered in cattle hides running around the village being hit by sticks. Animal hide was also wrapped around sticks and lit on fire, the smoke of which was believed to be able to ward off evil spirits. The smoking stick was also known as a Hogmanay. Some of these customs do continue, usually in the small, older communities in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland where tradition, along with language and dialect, are kept alive and well. Also today, a spectacular Fire Ceremony is still held in Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen on the coast. Giant fireballs, some weighing up to 20 pounds, are swung around on metal poles five feet long. It takes many men to carry them on their march through the town’s streets. This pre-Christian custom’s origin is believed to be linked to the Winter Solstice of late December with the fireballs signifying the sun’s power to purify the world by consuming evil spirits. Another past Hogmanay tradition was the "Creaming of the Well". The “cream” referred to was the first water drawn from the local well or spring on New Years Day. Being in possession of the first water drawn was said to guarantee marriage within the New Year. Since there could only be one “first water drawn” from the well, everyone (in particular the young women!) would race to reach it. However, it was said that for this to work, the young woman concerned would have to get the man they desired to marry to drink the water before the end of that first day. There is a warning, then, in that for any bachelor who wishes to remain so in the foreseeable future! In any case, whatever the traditions and their origins, Hogmanay in Scotland today is a very big party that can last for days if you are (not?) careful! And it is worth remembering that January 1st and 2nd are both holidays in Scotland - to give everyone time to recover from a week of merry-making and celebration. It is all part of Scotland's fascinating cultural legacy of ancient customs and traditions surrounding the pagan festival of Hogmanay. All Rights Reserved |
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