Hogmanay & First Footing
December 31, 2017
In Scotland, Christmas itself was until recent times a purely Religious festival and New Year was and still is the main holiday for Scots. Christmas was not traditionally celebrated in Scotland because it was banned for nearly 400 years until the 1950's. Hogmanay was the real traditional celebration.
Thousands of people gather in Edinburgh, in Scotland, every year for a big parade, food and fireworks. They are celebrating Hogmanay - which is a Scottish word that means 'new year'. Hogmanay celebrations take place all over Scotland and lasts for three days, beginning at the end of December and ending on January 2nd.
The roots of Hogmanay perhaps reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic celebration of Samhain. The Vikings celebrated Yule, which later contributed to the Twelve Days of Christmas, or the "Daft Days" as they were sometimes called in Scotland.
The "First Footing" is a tradition celebrated on Hogmanay, a Scottish New Year's celebration. It is supposed to bring luck and prosperity to the household for the new year. It is a ritual involving the first person to step into a household from the outside in a new year.
