1. 2 5 TH DECEMBER- 1ST JANUARY
CHRISTMAS AND NEW
YEAR IN SCOT LAND
2. CHRISTMA
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.
3. CHRISTMAS
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.
4. BOXING 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.
6. N E W Y E A R ’ S
EVE
(HOGMANAY)
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!”.
7. TRADI T IONS
F IRST -
FOOT ING
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.
8. SAINING
• 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.
10. TORCHL IGHT
PROCESSION
• 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.
11. BURNING THE
CLAVIE
• 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.
12. F IREBAL L
SWINGING
• 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.
13. AULD LANG SYNE
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.
