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There are many theories about the derivation of the word "Hogmanay",
but nobody really knows for sure. The Scandinavian word for the
feast preceding Yule was "Hoggo-nott" while the Flemish
words (many have come into Scots) "hoog min dag" means
"great love day". Hogmanay could also be traced back to
the Anglo-Saxon, Haleg monath, Holy Month, or the Gaelic, oge maidne,
new morning. But the most likely source seems to be the French.
"Homme est né" or "Man is born".
The roots of Hogmanay perhaps reach back to the celebration of
the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs
from the Gaelic New Year's celebration of Samhain. In Europe, winter
solstice evolved into the ancient celebration of Saturnalia, a great
Roman winter festival, where people celebrated completely free of
restraint and inhibition. Sounds familiar!
The Vikings celebrated Yule, which later contributed to the Twelve
Days of Christmas, or the "Daft Days" as they were sometimes
called in Scotland. The winter festival went underground with the
Protestant Reformation and ensuing years, but re-emerged near the
end of the 17th century.
There are many customs, both national and local, associated with
Hogmanay. The most widespread national custom is the practice of
'first-footing' which starts immediately after midnight. This involves
being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour
and often involves the giving of symbolic gifts such as salt (less
common today), coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a rich fruit
cake) intended to bring different kinds of luck to the householder.
Food and drink (as the gifts) 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 until
3 January). The first-foot (into the house after midnight) is supposed
to set the luck for the rest of the year, so it is important that
a suitable person does the job. A tall, handsome, and dark-haired
man bearing a gift is strongly preferred. According to popular folklore,
a man with dark hair was welcomed because he was assumed to be a
fellow Scotsman; a blond or red-haired stranger was assumed to be
an unwelcome Viking!
Originally a poem by Paisley-born, Robbie Burns (1788). There are
several ways of translating this (long, long, ago; days gone by
etc). In fact, we have added an English translation to the original
version, for your better comprehension - just click the pdf icon
in the panel below! Mind you, considering the song is traditionaly
sung at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, after making merry
for several hours, perhaps comprehension is the last thing you should
worry about.
Below you can listen to some very different versions of Auld Land
Syne, then you can print off the words by clicking the pdf icon
on the right of the panel below. So you now have no excuse for just
humming along.
| Auld Lang Syne |
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Glasgow & Kenneth McKellar
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New Year at Gracelands
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Waterloo Bridge
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The Words
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