#scottish new year

[blairstales]

Dàir na Coille – The imbuement of the woods – New Years Day

“Dàir na Coille celebrates the arrival of blessings, life-forces, and spirits, brought on the West Wind and nestled in the trees until each new blessing and new life, and new spirit emerges in due course in the months ahead. On New Year’s Day, the head of the household would go out and get a small twig from a fruit-bearing tree and bring it into the house saying “Fas is gnaths is toradh”, meaning ‘Growth, tradition, and abundance’, so that his family could share in the blessing of the new emerging life. As far as I know, this is all that remains of this custom. We are not told where the blessings and spirits come from exactly, or who sends them, however, we can interpret the symbolism that is still present in this simple custom.

The new spirits are brought in on the West Wind, which, apart from being wonderfully animistic, says something important. The wind is a vehicle for vitality; we affirm this fact with every breath we take, but the West, the direction of sunset, death, and the ancestors, is a direction of endings. So these newly arriving spirits come from the place unto which departing spirits go. The spirits are not just coming, the spirits are returning! Renewed!

Michael Newton suggests in his handbook of the Scottish Gaelic World that the individual trees imbued in Dair na Coille are a source of life, much as the Tree of Life is the ultimate source of life.”

[huariqueje]

JANUARY , from Months of the Year, Green - Rory Hutton , 2023.

Scottish , b. 1980s

Linocut , 29.7 x 21.5 cm. 11¾ x 8½ in.

Edition of 25

[heatherandthistles]

Happy New Year guys ⭐️

[ghostforum]

[earthworms-worm]

Flea Circus! They may be tiny, they may be fleas, but they can bring about the best entertainment a dusty corner has to offer!

They're part of a bigger story that I have absolutely not started yet, gotta draw the rest of the characters first lol

[profanityandprose]

Feuch an dèan thu gàire?

Anything for a Scottish boy…

[theselkiesea]

Edgar Allan Poe inspired tattoo

~Quill, ink bottle, red splatter and Nevermore~

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me

[scotianostra]

On January 1st 1600 Scotland celebrated the New Year for the first time on this date.

Scotland actually adopted January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1600 when it switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. England wouldn’t do this until 1752. Under the Julian calendar, the new year began on March 25th.

The Julian calendar, had been used throughout the Christian world since ancient times. But by the 16th century, scientists agreed that the old calendar improperly calculated the length of a year and was therefore falling gradually behind. During the reign of Pope Gregory XIII, a new calendar was created, called the Gregorian calendar. The new calendar, which began the year on January 1st, was adopted by most of Europe in 1582, but England and Henry VIII had broken with Rome and therefore did not adopt the new calendar.

The Scottish government decided that January 1st made a better New Year’s Day than March 25th, so the decision was made to make January 1, 1599 the new January 1st, 1600. As a result, 1599 had only nine months.

Most of Europe adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582 and 10 days were dropped from the calendar. Though Pope Gregory’s papal bull reforming the calendar had no power beyond the Catholic Church, Catholic countries—including Spain, Portugal and Italy—swiftly adopted the new system for their civil affairs. European Protestants, however, largely rejected the change because of its ties to the papacy, fearing it was an attempt to silence their movement. It wasn’t until 1700 that Protestant Germany switched over, and England held out until 1752.

Scotland did not follow suit completely, we kept the same amount of days as the Julian calendar, so year after year in Scotland, as in England, the Julian calendar fell gradually further and further behind so we had changed New Years Day but technically we were still using The Julian calendar, this continued until 1752 when Westminster implemented The Gregorian calendar and dropped 11 days. The last European country to adopt the reform was Greece as recently as 1923.

Another wee New year fact is that The Guinness Book of World Records has listed “Auld Lang Syne” as the world’s most-sung melody, even more than “Happy Birthday.” Poet Robert Burns actually transcribed the lyrics from an older Scottish folk song, and it was later paired with the music to create the traditional song we know so well. Radio play in American starting in 1929 helped to popularize the song on this side of the Atlantic and contributed to it becoming a tradition worldwide.

The pic shows the first page of the papal bull “Inter Gravissimas” by which Pope Gregory XIII introduced his calendar.

[blairstales]

Historical Hogmanay (Scottish New Year)

Hogmanay is the name for the Scottish New Year Eve, and was once thought to be a time when the veil was thin, allowing all sorts of creatures from the Otherworld into ours. Some theorize that this supernatural aspect is even where the name came from.

 “We know that on this night it was considered necessary to propitiate the dwellers in fairy-land, who, with the Phynnodderees, Witches, and Spirits of all kinds, were abroad and especially powerful. We may, therefore, perhaps translate Hog-man-aye into Hanga-man-ey–“mound-men (for) ever,” the Fairies being considered as dwellers in the hows (or tumuli, or green mounds)…-“ The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A. W. Moore[1891]

The pagan roots of the festival were once clear, and some locations held onto those traditions longer than others. For example, the Isle of Man once had a person puppet a horses head made of wood that was called White Mare.

“He went round the table snapping the horse’s mouth at the guests who finally chased him from the room, after much rough play.” The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A. W. Moore[1891]

Similarly, some places in Scotland had a person in a cows hide who would be chased around the house by people with sticks.

“Each then pulled off a piece of the hide, and burnt it for the purpose of driving away disease.” The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A. W. Moore[1891]

Many of the traditions have died out, while others might still seem familiar.

Fires

For some on the last day of the year, the fire was to be smothered and made smooth. First thing in the morning, you would look for prints in the ash.

“The first thing on New Year’s morning was to examine if there was in the ashes any mark like the shape of a human foot with the toes pointing towards the door. If there was such a mark, one was to be removed from the family before the year was run. Some climbed to the roof of the house and looked down the “lum” for the dreaded mark.” Notes on Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland by Walter Gregor, M.A. (1881)

For others, the fire was not allowed to go out all night.

"It was a practice not to be neglected to keep the fire alive in the house all night. No one was to come near it but a friend, and, as an additional security against its going out, candles were kept burning. Hence, the other name given to the night, Oidhche Choinnle, i.e. candle night." Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

If the fire did go out, you would be on your own. It was considered unlucky to give out fire on the first day of the year, so your neighbors would be unlikely to assist.

“It gave the means to witches and evilly-disposed people to do irreparable mischief to the cattle and their produce. The dying out of the fire was, therefore, a serious inconvenience in days when lucifer matches were unknown.” Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

Juniper Saining

“On New Year’s day the Highlanders burned juniper before their cattle.” Old Scottish Customs, Local and General by Ellen Emma Guthrie 1885

Saining is a set of practices to cleanse or ward off evil, and juniper smoke is one example of it. Saining could be done at any time of year, but it was though to be stronger during times when the veil was thin.

Every room was cleansed with the smoke, and so were humans and cattle.

“Stewart in his “Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland” tells how on the last night of the year the Strathdown Highlanders used to bring home great loads of juniper, which on New Year’s Day was kindled in the different rooms, all apertures being closed so that the smoke might produce a thorough fumigation. Not only human beings had to stand this, but horses and other animals were treated in the same way to preserve them from harm throughout the year. Moreover, first thing on New Year’s morning, everybody, while still in bed, was asperged with a large brush.” Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, by Clement A. Miles, [1912]

Mumming

Mumming or guising is something people tend to associate with Halloween (trick-or-treating), but it also happened on Christmas and Hogmanay. Mummers (commonly poor folk) would entertain in exchange for food and drink.

Here is an example of just one rhyme:

“Get up, goodwife, and shake your feathers, And dinna think that we are beggars; For we are bairns come out to play, Get up and gie’s our hogmanay!” Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, by Clement A. Miles, [1912]

Drinking

This is something people will recognize; drinking. People would get together with food and drinks (typically het pint).

“On the approach of twelve o’clock, a hot pint was prepared—that is, a kettle or flagon full of warm, spiced, and sweetened ale, with an infusion of spirits. When the clock had struck the knell of the departed year, each member of the family drank of this mixture ‘A good health and a happy New Year and many of them’ to all the rest, with a general hand-shaking.” Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, by Clement A. Miles, [1912]

When midnight hit, you would share with neighbors.

"Even the poorest in Scotland exchange sips of hot spiced ale, and make offerings of cakes, buns, and shortbread to their neighbours when ushering in the New Year on the stroke of midnight." Manners, Customs, and Observances: Their Origin and Significance by Leopold Wagner[1894]

First Footing

Who was first to enter your home on the new year could alter your luck for the year.

“The first-footers are off and away, flying in every direction through the city, singing, cheering, and shaking hands with all and sundry.” Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, by Clement A. Miles, [1912]

For many places, you would hope it to be a dark-haired man.

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Hallmark’s January Movie Slate to Star Katherine McNamara, Erica Durance and More (TVLine.com)

Premiering on Hallmark Channel:

Love on the Right Course Premiere Date: Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8 pm Whitney (Ashley Newbrough) is a professional golfer who is struggling to make the cut to qualify for her next tournament in Europe. Concerned that she might not be able to continue competing on a professional level, she returns to Budapest, and the golf course her family owns there, to revaluate her career. She finds that her father, who has grown reclusive since losing his wife two years ago, has handed over day-to-day operations of the club to a laid-back, new golf pro, Daniel (Marcus Rosner). Daniel’s casual style is at odds with Whitney’s and it throws her off her game, literally. As the pair get to know each other, their perspective changes and a romance develops. But, when Whitney’s former trainer returns and pushes Daniel out, it might just cost Whitney her best shot at love.

A Scottish Love Scheme  Premiere Date: Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 pm Lily (Erica Durance) travels to Scotland with her mother and reconnects with Logan (Jordan Young), a childhood family friend. Unbeknownst to Lily and Logan, their meddling mothers have come up with a plan to set them up.

Betty’s Bad Luck in Love Premiere Date: Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8 pm Cursed from childhood to fail at romance, Betty’s (Laci J. Mailey) relationships have always ended in disaster. But when she meets Alex (Marco Grazzini), she’s tempted to try once more. Can true love prevail over a curse?

Swinging Into Love Premiere Date: Saturday, Jan. 27 at 8 pm Luna (Jocelyn Hudon) is a former dancer, who left that dream behind for a grounded life managing her family’s construction business and gets the opportunity to transform a gymnasium into a studio for aerials. As she sneaks a moment to try dancing in the silks, she is surreptitiously discovered by Bennet (Oliver Renaud), a professional aerialist, who has returned home from performing around the world. Bennet is none too pleased to walk in to find his contractor messing around on the silks, but when his partner for an upcoming show drops out, he soon recruits Luna to perform with him. As the hard work of this dynamic sport and the joys of Luna returning to her roots as a dancer bring them closer together, will their relationship crash or will they find a way to reach new heights?

Premiering on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries:

True Justice: Family Ties Premiere Date: Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 pm A law school student (Katherine McNamara) with the help of her friends sets out to prove her brother was wrongfully convicted. The only way to clear his name is by finding the real killer, but the closer they get, the more danger they are all in.

Click this LINK to read the full article at TVLine.com.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

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“What is a "canty day", Dennis?' 'I've never troubled to ask. Something like hogmanay, I expect.' 'What is that?' 'People being sick on the pavement in Glasgow.' 'Oh.”

- Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One

Haud Hogmanay everyone.

Lang may yer lum reek in yer ain wee hoose.* 

*long may your chimney smoke.

[theweeowlart]

🔴My drawing here is a view of Arden House, Loch Lomond, Scotland. I zoomed in on the building from the boat on the loch to get this view for drawing, such a fairy tale building it needed some magical treatment.

[peacefullyl0st]

Happy New Year! Or Happy Hogmanay if you’re a fellow Scot 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

2023 was pretty horrific, and today I mourn my friend who passed this time last year 🤍 hoping next year heals me and brings happy memories 🧡

[oh2e]

We were discussing our favourite Christmas films at work but the only one I’d seen was the Muppet Christmas Carol. However, who needs Christmas films when you’ve got the Thanktival special on DVD?

[ruffles23]

“The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady” January: Part 2