Hogmanay 12/31/19

History

It is believed that this tradition arrived in Scotland with invading VIkings in the early 8th or 9th centuries. There seems to be a lot of symbolic gestures in the traditions resembling traditions for the Winter Solstice, celebrating the shortest day. The holiday is often celebrated long and hard and requires a few days of recovery time. There is strong viking influence in several of the traditions and is primarily noted in Shetland where the New Year is referred to as “Yules” which is the Scandinavian word for Yule, the midwinter celebration.

*Fun Fact: Christmas was actually banned from Scotland for close to 400 years. This happened during the Protestant Reformation when Christmas was deemed a Christian/Catholic Holiday. As a result, Christmas was not celebrated from the end of the 17th century until the 1950’s.*

Traditions/Superstitions

It is believed that before midnight several chores should be completed to ensure a fresh start for the new year: Clean the house, Clean the ashes from the firebrush, and clear all your debts. This will ensure a clean break for the new year.

After midnight it is traditional to sing the ‘newer’ song “Auld Lang Syne” by Robert Burns. Although the song was officially published in 1788, it was circulated to the masses som 80 years previously. 

“First Footing”

This tradition is still very common in Scotland. To ensure luck in the upcoming year, the first to step across the threshold of a home should be a dark haired male. He should carry with him several pieces of coal, shortbread, salt, black bun, and a small dram of whiskey. This tradition is reminiscent of the time of the invading vikings where if the first person at your door was a big blonde man with an axe, your new year probably wouldn’t start off very well.

Celebration

Celebrations still take place throughout Scotland with fireworks and torchlight processions; some still holding on to the old ways, others modernized to protect tradition. One of the older traditions was to dress in cattle hides and run through the streets, being beaten by sticks. Cattle hides were then wrapped around the sticks and used as torches whose smoke warded off evil spirits. The cattle hide stick was called a Hogmanay.

On the Isle of Lewis, young men and boys would split into groups. The leaders of these groups would wear a sheepskin while another member carried a bag. They would then proceed through the village, door to door, reciting a Gaelic rhyme and collecting fruit buns, bannocks, in their sacks.

In Stonehaven,giant fireballs are swung on heavy metal poles, requiring many men to carry them as they are paraded up and down High Street. This practice is also believed to be reminiscent of Winter Solstice practices with the fireballs being the equivalent to the sun and purifying the world of evil spirits.