Hogmanay Published Dec. 18, 2008 By Suzanne Harper 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs RAF LAKENHEATH, England -- There are so many wonderful things about being married to a Scotsman and having family north of the border. At Hogmanay, the Scottish reputation for hospitality and enjoyment finds its fullest expression and some of my fondest memories of the New Year will always be those spent with my Scottish family. Hogmanay is celebrated on New Year's Eve, every year. Whether you are at home with family or amongst the heaving crowds on the streets of the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, you are assured of the warmest welcome that will make you forget the frostiest night. On the city streets, celebrations start in the early evening and reach a crescendo by midnight. Minutes before the start of New Year, a lone piper plays; then the bells of Big Ben chime at the turn of midnight, lots of kissing, and everyone joins hands and sings Auld Lang Syne: Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet For auld lang syne! The words are written in old Scots, the language commonly spoken in Scotland until 1707 when Scotland's Parliament dissolved itself and was merged with England. The words were adapted by Rabbie Burns, Scotland's National poet, from a traditional poem. A rough translation would be: Should old friends be forgotten, And never remembered? Should old friends be forgotten, And days gone by? For days gone by, my dear, For days gone by, We'll take a cup of kindness yet, For days gone by. First Footing Throughout Scotland and in many parts of northern England, there is the New Year's tradition of 'first footing'. If a "tall, dark stranger" appears at your door at the stroke of midnight with a lump of coal for the fire, or a cake or coin, then many held the belief that the year ahead would be a prosperous one. Some say that the fear associated with blond strangers arose from the memory of blond-haired Vikings raping and pillaging Scotland in the 4th to 12th centuries. Fireball Swinging Many of the local customs involve the use of fire; it is said that this symbolises lighting the way into the coming year and carrying the light of knowledge into the future, but it is more likely to be a left-over from pagan midwinter rites, when fire was very important. Fireball Swinging is a custom peculiar to the town of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire, North east Scotland. The custom has been documented since 1908, though it is believed to be much, much older. It involves local people making up 40 to 60 balls of tar, wire and some flammable material: paper, rags, twigs, pine cones, bits of coal, etc. Each ball is then given to a swinger who swings the flaming ball round and round his head and body by a wire rope or chain. Each ball is made as heavy as each swinger feels he can handle; they can be anywhere between 5 pounds and 15 pounds in weight and be up to 3 foot in diameter. The swingers treat it as a show of strength, competing to see who can swing his ball for the longest time; hardened swingers can keep it up for half an hour. The procession of swingers goes through the streets of Stonehaven, accompanied by pipes and drums. It ends at the harbour where any balls still burning are thrown into the water. Large crowds come from miles around to watch the spectacle, which is extremely impressive, particularly on a very dark, moonless night. Origins of Hogmanay Nobody is really sure where the word "Hogmanay" comes from. Its usage can be traced back to 1696 with reference to someone singing a 'hog ma nae song.' The Oxford English Dictionary dates Hogmynae-night as a festival as far back as 1680. 'Hogmanay' may be from the Gaelic 'oge maidne' ("New Morning"), Anglo-Saxon 'Haleg Monath' ("Holy Month"), or Norman French word 'hoguinané', which was derived from the Old French 'anguillanneuf' ("gift at New Year"). But there are a number of other theories besides these. The customs of Hogmanay combine elements of druidic winter solstice practices of sun and fire worship in mid-winter with the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which involved great festivities with lots of wine and food, as well as more lascivious goings-on. In addition, the Vikings celebrated Yule, beginning on the shortest day of the year with sacrifices to the Norse gods and continuing for a number of days. Following the Scottish Reformation in the 1560s, celebrating Christmas was frowned upon by the rather dour version of Calvinism, believing it to be to superstitious and too Roman Catholic. The celebration of Christmas was effectively banned, except in its pure religious sense. However, while the reformers could ban Christmas, they were unable to do the same for New Year. The celebrations were forced to go underground but re-emerged in the late 17th Century. Right up until the 1950s, Hogmanay was the major festival of the winter season. Christmas Day was a normal working day in Scotland until the 1960s and even into the 1970s in some areas. Despite Christmas Day and Boxing Day being made public holidays in the 1960s, as they had been for years in England, Hogmanay is still associated with as much celebration as Christmas in Scotland, if not more. Indeed, both Jan. 1 and Jan. 2 are public holidays in Scotland whereas in England only Jan.1 is a holiday. ***** Scotland is a beautiful country to visit at any time of the year, but I hope you have the opportunity to experience Hogmanay at least once. In the words of a traditional Scots toast at Hogmanay. A guid New Year to ane an' a'! 'A good New Year to one and all.' Ask a Scotsman to read this to you - you'll love the accent!