Happy New Year! New Year’s Eve / Day is a big deal in Scotland (it’s called Hogmanay here), and certainly when my parents were growing up it was bigger (read: more festive) than Christmas. Different communities have different local traditions, like Orkney’s ba’, or Stonehaven’s fireball swinging (my mother’s family is from Stonehaven) which sounds very dangerous. And there are more general traditions: all debts paid up (I paid my MasterCard bill on Tuesday), housecleaning (did that yesterday, along with the dead seal cleansing), steak pie for New Year’s Day dinner (I will miss out on that, but my sisters still do that each year), singing Auld Lang Syne with arms linked, and first footing, where at midnight people visit one anothers’ houses to wish them a happy new year. It is considered good luck if the first person to cross your threshold in the new year is a dark haired man – my fair-haired Dad used to accompany his best friend (and brunette) Duncan as he first-footed around Bellshill – they were offered a wee dram of whisky in each house. 😊
Some of this year’s Hogmanay festivities were curtailed by Omicron – I’ve mentioned the Ba’ (cancelled) and the tractor run (went ahead) here in Kirkwall. I didn’t know if there would be any first-footing in Kirkwall, but my bedroom faces the street, so at around 11:45 I opened my window and blinds, got into bed with a book, and waited to see – sure enough at midnight I could hear some fireworks going off somewhere, and a few people walked past on their way to visit friends (at least I assume that’s what they were doing – they could just have been walking their dogs).
Anyway, I’m very excited to see what 2022 will bring – my resolutions this year are pretty simple: swear less, learn to cook at least 5 types of seafood I’ve never cooked before, and visit at least 10 of the 70+ islands that make up Orkney.
Happy New Year, and as we Scots say: lang may yer lum reek!