Although nowadays Christmas is a huge winter festival, the less commercialised festival of New Year is still celebrated with great gusto in Scotland. There are a number of traditions attached to this special night, revolving around saying goodbye to the old year and making a good start in the new.
Preparing the House
Before going out, or before people arrive if you are celebrating at home, it is important that the house is ready to face the new year. The 31st of December is spent cleaning the house so that you can make a clean start in the coming year. For the same reason, all the bins have to be emptied, getting rid of last year's rubbish.
All calendars have to be taken down so that nothing remains from the year that has gone and the new year can be started afresh. New calendars are not put up until after midnight, otherwise known as the Bells.
At the Bells
Your situation as the year turns is symbolic of how the new year will go for you. For this reason it's traditional to welcome the year on your feet (for good health), with money in your pocket (for prosperity) and with a glass, usually of alcohol, in your hand (for good times ahead).
Scotland is a rather staid country, and the period just after the Bells is just about the only time strangers kiss each other! It is traditional to greet everybody nearby with "Happy New Year" or "a good New Year", and a handshake (man to man) or a handshake with a single kiss on the cheek (man to woman and woman to woman). Many people also use this greeting the first time they meet a friend in the new year, even if several days have passed since Hogmanay.
An old tradition states that a window should be opened at midnight to let the old year out and the new year in, although this is not much followed any more - possibly because of midwinter temperatures in Scotland! A newer tradition is to sing Auld Lang Syne straight after the Bells and the New Year's greetings.
First Footing
After the parties have finished it is traditional to visit friends and neighbours in the early hours of the morning. This is known as "First Footing", because it is the first time feet have crossed the threshold that year. A tall dark man should be the first to enter. If there is no tall dark man, the tallest of the men should enter first or, if there are no men, the tallest of the women.
A gift is given the the householder to bring prosperity into the house in the new year. This used to be a lump of coal for the fire but in modern times it is more likely to be some shortbread or chocolates, of a bottle of wine. Eventually, everyone goes home to bed and sleeps through the rest of the 1st of January. Fortunately, in Scotland the 2nd of January is a public holiday so there is plenty of time to recover!
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