12^th Annual New Years Day First Footin'   
Thursday, JANUARY 1, 2009

Join us for the walkabout of Historic Rural Hill! 

Stepping off at 11:00 am 

Scottish Tradition
Several towns throughout the hillsides of Scotland continue an age old annual ritual of a "walk of the town limits" to restate or reclaim the boundaries of the township.

This tradition has been adopted as part of the Rural Hill Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) celebration. Hogmanay features many of the customary rituals to assure good crops, good health, and good fortune in the coming year.

The Holidays
Following the Protestant Reformation in Scotland in the latter half of the sixteenth century, it was considered irreverent to celebrate dates of religious importance.

Merriment and celebrations were reserved for Hogmanay (Hog ma nay)

No routine work should be left unfinished on Hogmanay. Hogmanay... New Year's Eve and New Year's Day...was the celebration of good will and good fortune.     

The custom of "first-footin'" being that fortune would smile on the house if the first person to enter in the New Year was a young man; tall, handsome, healthy, dark haired, dark-eyed, and bearing gifts (such as a lump of coal). These days it does no harm if the first-footer carries a bottle of his own to offer his host a drink and a toast, "Lang may your lum reek." (May the fire on your hearth burn on.)

A first-foot who arrived empty handed was a terrible omen; of poverty and loss in the New Year. However, it was believed that it spelled disaster if the first person across the threshold was a woman of any age, especially a blond

The Walk 
Wear good walking shoes and appropriate clothing for the season.  

This will be a great jaunt around the farm stopping along the way to hear stories of history and folklore. We’ll walk approximately 2-3 miles over hill and dale, and through the woods.

If you do not think you are physically able to do the Walk, please come anyway. It’s a great time for fellowship around the farm yard, and we’re always looking for new talent to help with the play, “Stone Soup”.

This event is FREE and open to Catawba Valley Scottish Society Members, Family and Friends, and prospective members, but we do encourage everyone to bring something for the luncheon.

List of Items Needed:

•  A Can or fresh vegetables for the Soup

• Bread

• Dessert

• Soft Drinks, Tea, or Favorite Beverage

• Bowls, Plates, Napkins, Eating Utensils

Schedule

More on Hogmanay
To learn more about this traditional event visit:http://www.hogmanay.net/

Each year on New Year’s Eve, a celebration is held in Scotland called Hogmanay.  In cities throughout Scotland thousands of revelers take to the streets to ring in the New Year. In cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh it has become a large festival. The festivities begin in the early evening and reach a climax by midnight. Minutes before the commencement of the New Year, a single bagpiper plays. Then the bells of Big Ben chime at the turn of midnight. There is lots of kissing and hugging, and everyone joins in to sing what has become the traditional New Year’s song of “Auld Lang Syne”. There is obviously more kissing and hugging afterward.

Elsewhere in Scotland, particularly in more remote communities, there are customary first footing and Scottish dances, or ceilidhs (pronounced "kayli"). For centuries, fire ceremonies and torch light processions, fireball swinging and lighting of New Year fires played an important part in the Hogmanay celebrations. In some towns this tradition continues. 

Where did the word Hogmanay Originate
No one is exactly certain where "Hogmanay" comes from. Some propose it originated from the Gaelic oge maidne ("New Morning"). Others believe the Anglo-Saxon, Haleg Monath ("Holy Month"), and there are those who believe from the Norman French word hoguinané, which was derived from the Old French anguillanneuf ("gift at New Year"). Some people have said that it derived from the French au gui mener ("lead to the mistletoe") or a Flemish combo hoog ("high" or "great"), min ("love" or "affection") and dag ("day").  

Roots of Hogmanay
Hogmanay's roots reach back to the pagan practice of sun and fire worship in the deep mid-Winter. This evolved into the ancient Saturnalia, a great Roman Winter festival, where people celebrated completely free of restraint and inhibition. The Vikings celebrated Yule, which became the twelve days of Christmas, or the "Daft Days" as they became known in Scotland. The Winter festival went underground with the Reformation and ensuing years, but re-emerged at the end of the 17th Century. Since then the customs have continued to evolve to the modern day. It is only in recent years that Hogmanay has been celebrated on such a large scale: the first event of its kind was at "Summit in the City" in 1992 when Edinburgh hosted the European Union Heads of State conference. Edinburgh's Hogmanay festival was so successful that it spawned similar events throughout Scotland for last year's millennium festivities. This year the big three Scottish Ne'er celebrations are Edinburgh's Hogmanay, Glasgow's Hogmanay and Stirling's Hogmanay.  

What is First Footin’?
Traditionally, it has been held that your new year will be a prosperous one if, at the strike of midnight, a "tall, dark stranger" appears at your door with a lump of coal for the fire, or a cake or coin. In exchange, you offered him food, wine or a wee dram of whisky, or the traditional Het Pint, which is a combination of ale, nutmeg and whisky. It's been suggested that the fear associated with blond strangers arose from the memory of blond-haired Viking’s raping and pillaging Scotland circa 4th to 12th centuries. What's more likely to happen these days is that groups of friends or family get together and do a tour of each others' houses. Each year, a household takes it in turn to provide a meal for the group. In many parts of Scotland gifts or "Hogmanays" are exchanged after the turn of midnight.

Who Has the Largest Hogmanay Party?
The biggest Hogmanay street party in Scotland to date was an estimated 300,000 at Edinburgh's Hogmanay in 1996/97. Due to the mass numbers of people there was overcrowding and people were crushed in the celebration.  Consequently, tickets were issued out for this event making it somewhat of an “invitation only” celebration.

Traditional New Year’s Song-Auld Lang's Syne
Many people of Scottish descent around the world join hands at the strike of midnight and sing, Auld Lang’s 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 deep breath now:

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!

It has also become tradition at the closing of the Loch Norman Highland Games that family, friends, and participants gather around the Cairn at Rural Hill and sing this song.