Hogmanay Traditions

Clan Young Tartan, Scotland

I began celebrating Hogmanay, or Scottish New Year, the year my mother, Karen, died.  It was a way to remember her and the heritage she loved.  Hogmanay is celebrated differently among many Scottish clans, and since I had no personal tradition to draw from, I did a lot of research and came up with our own tradition.

Feel free to create your own tradition or to use this one if it helps bring closure to one year and launch you into a peaceful new year.





Hogmanay, as celebrated in modern day Scotland, is a giant celebration combining music, fire, and gift giving.  The US has its "Times Square" tradition; Scotland has Hogmanay.

The roots of Hogmanay go back centuries and are linked to Norse, Gaelic, and Druid practices surrounding Winter Solstice.  The traditions include music, fire, and gift giving, but also include ritual cleansing of the home and "first footing."  To that end, these are the traditions we do in our house on December 31/January 1:

On December 31:

1. Put on Celtic music.  I listen to instrumental pipe music, as that is my preference, but there are lots of options and playlists for Hogmanay.  
2. Open all the windows in the kitchen and/or dining areas of the house to let the "bad vibes" of the year leave the house.
3. Boil water, and use it without soap to scrub all of the counters and tables where food is prepared or eaten.  Be careful with the boiling water and let it cool slightly before you touch it/scrub with it.
4. Once everything is cleaned, close the windows. 
5. Some people burn juniper throughout the house causing lots of smoke (because the windows are closed).  We don't do this because we have animals, but we might one day.
6. Outside, build a fire (we use a chiminea because New Jersey doesn't allow fire pits) using wood from where you live (region).  I gather the wood the day before on a "last footing" hike.
7. Ask each person to write down his or her sins/regrets of the year on slips of paper (one sin/regret per paper).  
8. Around the fire, say prayers for forgiveness, peace, the poor, the lost, etc., and each person can take his or her time to throw away and burn their pieces of paper in silence.  
9. Let the fire burn out naturally, if you can, or extinguish with water.
10. Before midnight, everyone leaves the house together and can not enter the house until "first footing" takes place in the New Year.  If you are leaving for the night and returning after midnight, do this as a group, and announce it as the "final footing" before leaving.  Sometimes Pipers are used to pipe out the family.  I plan to con my brother into doing this next year ;p
11. At this time, we drop off gifts to our neighbors ~ every property that touches ours.  The historical gift is salt, but since that seems like a silly gift, we give pre-packaged candy, cakes, or fruit.  We leave them on the steps with a note wishing our neighbors a Happy Hogmanay.   
12. Once final footing takes place, no one can enter the house until after midnight.  If someone forgets something, everyone must go back in and "final foot" again.
13. At midnight, many people sing Auld Lang Syne and cross arms.  Since I am the only one who knows the versus, we don't actually do this.  

January 1:

1. After midnight, we practice "first footing" by entering the house in this order: Tallest dark haired male first (Julian), followed by height (gender doesn't matter), for us it is David and then Dave and then me.  Redheads must enter last, male or female, by height.  If there are no males, simply follow by height with redheads last.  So, even if I was the tallest, I would have to go last. 
2. Once in the house, open all windows to allow the fresh air of the new year to clear out the Juniper smoke and/or the "bad air" of the previous year.
3. All adult members gather at the table and do a shot of Scotch Whiskey together after toasting the new year.

Happy Hogmanay!!!