How to Celebrate Hogmanay
The New Year holiday is one of the most popular celebrations in Scotland, with New Years Eve having its own name and being called Hogmanay. This is a great time of partying in Scotland and there are many traditional ways to celebrate the coming of the New Year. If you are in Scotland on Hogmanay this year, or any other year for that matter, some of the best ways to celebrate include the following.
Attend a Ceilidh
A Ceilidh is a traditional social gathering in the Gaelic culture which typically includes the Scottish and Irish people. In Scotland it generally comprises a live band playing traditional folk music and this enables the guests to partake of a little Scottish country dancing. This is a formal style of dancing in which groups of two, four or eight people dance in a pre-determined pattern in accompaniment to the music. Even if you are unfamiliar with the steps, the band will generally walk the dancers through them before the dance gets going for real and it can therefore be enjoyed by everyone. While Ceilidh’s can be held at any time of the year, they are particularly popular on Hogmanay, when many people get dressed up in their Scottish finery of tartan kilts and dresses to party. The music is great, the dancing is fun and a Ceilidh is an excellent way to welcome in the New Year in Scotland
Go First Footing
First footing is a common tradition in Scotland at Hogmanay and is something that many people do. The idea is that after the clock has struck midnight and the New Year has officially begun you visit the home of friends, family or neighbors to be the first foot to enter the home. This is traditionally considered to be lucky especially if the person visiting a home is tall, dark and handsome. There are a few gifts that were commonly carried by the first footers to give to the home owner to bring them luck in the coming year with some of these including Scotch whisky, coal and Black Bun, which is a Scottish fruit cake. If you want to celebrate Hogmanay in a traditional style then plan to be the first foot of someone you know and bring a little luck to their home for the year to come.
Attend a City Center Party
Many towns and cities in Scotland have city center parties which are attended by hundreds, if not thousands of people in some cases. This is generally done in a spirit of companionship to count down the last few seconds of the old year and cheer in the new. One of the biggest celebrations is in Edinburgh, although most of the big towns and cities will have a gathering in their city center and many smaller towns will also have a party in their center. While the highlight of the night is the countdown to the New Year, many celebrations will have other attractions such as bands, fairgrounds and firework displays and it can be a good way to see in the New Year.
Watch the Television
As strange as it may sound this can be an enjoyable way to see in the New Year. Many elderly people or couples with young children will not really have the option of going out to celebrate and will have to remain indoors and traditionally the TV shows on Hogmanay are pretty entertaining. Generally there will be a few special programs made particularly for the evening. In recent years Hogmanay Live has been shown and this is Ceilidh type event which is broadcast live and features a range of contemporary and traditional music to enjoy. In years gone by, programs which were popular included Scotch and Wry which was a comedy sketch show starring Rikki Fulton and the White Heather Club which featured traditional Scottish folk music such as the famous Jimmy Shand and Band. If you cannot get out on Hogmanay the television line up is usually good and can be an entertaining way to see in the New Year.
Hogmanay is one of the best celebrations each year in Scotland and there are a great many ways to enjoy it. Those shown above are some of the traditional ways to celebrate Hogmanay and if you are in Scotland on the 31st December, one or more of these can make for an enjoyable experience.
