Ring in the New Year Hogmanay Style
Hogmanay, Scotland’s Famous Festival, is a Vital Annual Custom
Nov 24, 2008
Hogmanay Night, celebrated on 31 December every year, is still strong in Scotland and comprises several deep-winter activities, many of which, like Hogmanay, derive from early pagan rituals.
Origins of Hogmanay
None can agree on the origin of the word Hogamany. Some say Hogmanay comes from the French dialect “au geux menez”, which means “Give to the beggars.” Others have suggested that Hogmanay derives from the Norman French word hoguinané, which comes from the Old French anguillanneuf (gift at New Year). Whichever version you subscribe to, both meanings epitomise giving and charitable deeds that define the spirit of Hogmanay as it exists today.
First-footing – A Traditional Hogmanay Ritual
Central to Hogmanay’s charitable theme is the practice of first-footing. This custom involves people going from door to door to visit friends and relatives in their town to exchange small gifts, usually of food or drink. The first person to visit a house after midnight on New Year’s Eve is called the “first-footer.” The rest of the night is given over to Hogmanay festivities normally in the form of a traditional Ceilidh or social gathering.
Traditionally, the ceremony of Hogmanay was a formal affair in which a dark stranger would visit a household bearing a piece of coal (a traditional Scottish symbol of wealth) which he would place in the fire, and a sprig of mistletoe, bread and salt which he would place on the table as a token of friendship. In return the household would provide the kind stranger with food and whisky. This Hogmanay ceremony was performed in order to bestow prosperity on the household for the coming year. Once the Hogmanay ceremony was complete best wishes for a Happy New Year were exchanged.
Nowadays, the Hogmanay ceremony is less formal. The “stranger” is a friend or relative and he or she often brings food or drink for the family, who return the gesture by providing them with food to eat and wine or whisky to drink. This is usually combined with a pre-arranged meeting at one person’s house, where the Hogmanay festivities continue into the night.
Other Hogmanay Rituals – Portable Bonfires, Vikings and Great Balls of Fire!
Besides charitable goodwill, burning is another motif that characterises the Hogmanay tradition.
Stonehaven, a small seaside village 20km south of Aberdeen on Scotland’s east coast, witnesses the annual swinging of fireballs on Hogmanay night. This unusual activity involves the bundling with lengths of wire of stacks of combustible material, such as paper, straw and mattresses, and suspending the “fireballs” from derricks. The fireballs, which are a similar size to wrecking balls, are then swung and lit with flaming torches.
More Hogmanay eccentricity takes place further north at the seaside village of Burghead on the Moray Firth. Here Hogmanay madness takes the form of a 12m high bonfire erected in a large basket of about 30m in diameter. Not to be outdone by other bonfires, the villagers take the unorthodox step of setting their “clavie” on wheels and rolling it around the village on Hogmanay night.
If you ask any inhabitant of Stonehaven or Burghead the simple question, “why?” you’ll be met with a raised eyebrow and the startled response, “Och, cuz it’s Hogmanay!”
Most famous of all Hogmanay festivals is Up-Helly-Aa, a Viking celebration that takes place on the Shetland Islands. Every Hogmanay night participants go guising (dress up in costumes) and put on various shows. And it’s not only the imagination they ignite – the highlight of this Hogmanay festival is the spectacular burning of a Viking longship!
Although Hogmanay is a great reason for merriment one must not forget the more benevolent values that represent the soul of Hogmanay. Hogmanay is a time for charitable goodwill and acts of kindness to one’s neighbours, a night to renew old acquaintances and to reflect on lessons learned from the past year and to make the following year a success. On that note, here’s to 2009 and a happy and prosperous year to all the readers, writers and staff at Suite 101. Happy New Year!
