Christmas & Hogmanay

C H R I S T M AS A N D N E W Y E AR I N S C O T L AN D

25T H D EC EM BER- 1S T JA N UA RY

C H R I S T M A S• Christmas in Scotland was traditionally

observed very quietly, because the Church of Scotland – a Presbyterian church – for various reasons never placed much emphasis on the Christmas festival.

• Christmas Day only became a public holiday in 1958, and Boxing Day in 1974. Until the 1960s, Christmas Day was a normal working day for most people in Scotland. The New Year's Eve festivity, Hogmanay, was by far the largest celebration in Scotland. The gift-giving, public holidays and feasting associated with mid-winter were traditionally held between the 11th of December and 6 January. However, since the 1980s, the fading of the Church's influence and the increased influences from the rest of the UK and elsewhere, Christmas and its related festivities are now nearly on a par with Hogmanay and "Ne'erday". The capital city of Edinburgh now has a traditional German Christmas market from late November until Christmas Eve.

• Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night, the evening of January 5.

• It is common to send Christmas cards in the weeks running up to Christmas. They are said to have been invented in Edinburgh in the mid-nineteenth century.

C H R I S T M A S DAY • On Christmas morning

• Christmas Dinner is usually eaten at lunchtime or early afternoon on Christmas Day. It's normally roast turkey, roast vegetables and 'all the trimmings’. (Traditionally, and before turkey was available, roast beef or goose was the main Christmas meal.

• Special desserts are also prepared, such as Christmas pudding, mince pies, and fruit cake. A typical Scottish desert is Clootie Dumpling.

BOX I N G DAY

• Boxing Day is a holiday traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradespeople would receive gifts, known as a "Christmas box", from their bosses or employers

• In the UK it is now primarily known as a shopping holiday. It is a time where shops have sales, often with dramatic price reductions. It has become the day of the year with the greatest amount of returns.

• Many shops open very early on Boxing Day. It is not uncommon for people to start queuing in the early hours of the morning.

• In the United Kingdom, it is traditional for the Premier League (England), Scottish Premiership (Scotland) and NIFL Premiership (Northern Ireland), as well as the lower divisions and rugby leagues, to hold a full programme of football and rugby league matches on Boxing Day. Traditionally, matches on Boxing Day are played against local rivals. This was originally to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day. It also makes the day an important one in the sporting calendar.

O T H E R FE S T I V E FO O D S

Mince pies

Clootie dumpling

Shortbread

Tablet

NEW Y EAR ’S EVE ( HOG M AN AY )

Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year (31st December), also called New Year's Eve. In Scotland, Hogmanay is the start of a celebration which lasts through the night until the morning of New Year's Day (1st January) or, in some cases, 2nd January which is a Scottish Bank Holiday.

Lang may yer lum reek! is a traditional Scottish Hogmanay greeting. It means “May you never be without fuel for your fire!", but more literally translates to "Long may your chimney smoke!”.

F I R S T- F O O T I N GTRA D I T I ON S

In Scotland, the tradition of first-footing starts immediately after midnight on Hogmanay. The first-foot is the first person to enter a friend or neighbour’s house. They bring symbolic gifts such as salt, coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a rich fruit cake) which represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer and are meant to bring luck to the householder. Food and drink are then given to the guests.

This may go on throughout the early hours of the morning and well into the next day (although modern days see people visiting houses well into the middle of January). The first-foot is supposed to set the luck for the rest of the year. Traditionally, tall dark-haired men are preferred as the first-foot.

S A I N I N G

• Saining is a Scots word for blessing or protecting.

• An old Hogmanay custom in Highlands of Scotland, which still happens today is to sain the house. Early on New Year's morning, householders drink and then sprinkle 'magic water' from 'a dead and living ford' around the house (a 'dead and living ford' refers to a river ford that is routinely crossed by both the living and the dead). After the sprinkling of the water in every room, on the beds and all the inhabitants, the house is sealed up tight and branches of juniper are set on fire and carried throughout the house. The juniper smoke is allowed to thoroughly fumigate the buildings until it causes sneezing and coughing among the inhabitants. Then all the doors and windows are flung open to let in the cold, fresh air of the new year. The woman of the house then administers 'a restorative' from the whisky bottle, and the household sits down to its New Year breakfast.

E D I N B U R G H

T O RC H L I G H T P R OC E S S I O N

• The Torchlight Procession opens the annual Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations with around 8,000 torchbearers creating a "river of fire" through the city streets.

• A bunch of noisy, hairy vikings from Shetland will lead a procession of up to 35,000 people, including those carrying flaming torches, through the city centre and up to the ancient Edinburgh meeting ground of Calton Hill.

BU R N I N G T H E C L AV I E• In Burghead, Moray in the

north east of Scotland the Burning of the Clavie helps to bring good luck to residents. A flaming barrel filled with tar and staves is carried around town on 11th January (Gaelic New Year’s Day, using the pre-Gregorian calendar, is celebrated on the 12th), then placed in a ruined fort before being allowed to burn out and roll down a hill.

F I R EBALL SWI NG I NG

• One of the most spectacular fire ceremonies takes place in Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen on the north east coast. Giant fireballs are swung around on long metal poles each requiring many men to carry them as they are paraded up and down the High Street. The origin is believed to be linked to the Winter Solstice with the swinging fireballs signifying the power of the sun, purifying the world by consuming evil spirits.

• As the Old Town House bell sounds to mark the New Year, the balls are set alight and the swingers set off up the High Street, swinging the burning balls around their heads as they go. At the end of the ceremony, any fireballs that are still burning are thrown into the harbour. Many people enjoy this display, and large crowds flock to see it, with 12,000 attending the 2007/2008 event. In recent years, additional attractions have been added to entertain the crowds as they wait for midnight, such as fire poi, a pipe band, street drumming and a firework display after the last fireball is thrown into the sea.

A U L D L A N G S Y N E

The custom of singing 'Auld Lang Syne' at midnight on New Year's Eve is now common in many countries. 'Auld Lang Syne' is a traditional poem reinterpreted by Robert Burns, which was later set to music.

N E W Y E AR ’ S DAY (N E ’ E R DAY )

LO O N Y D O O K I N G

N E W Y E A R ’ S R E S OLU T I O N S