New Year Celebrations - An Exploration of Folk Traditions from the British Isles
As I write this it’s Boxing day. My house is a riot of noise and merriment, filled with my loved ones and I reflect on how lucky I am, to have food in my cupboards, a roof over my head and the most basic of needs met. Boxing day always feels a little melancholy, a time to reflect on the year almost gone and think forward towards the next. I will forgo such musings today however. Instead, on this day of servants (Boxing day originated from the peasant class - so many would have been working on Christmas day itself, in service to the upper classes that the day after was their Christmas day, when they would give and receive their own Christmas boxes and spend time with their families) let’s explore some weird and wonderful New Year celebrations that make our modern way of seeing in the new year appear bland in comparison.
Hogmanay (Scotland)
Nobody seems to celebrate the New Year better than the Scots. Hogmanay is the Scottish festival of seeing in the new year, with many rituals and traditions that have their roots in the history of the land and of the people that not only descend from that beautiful country, but also by those who have landed upon her shores.
Hogmanay starts on New Years Eve, ushered in on the 30th of December with a torch lit procession through the streets. Up Helly Aa is a fire festival held in the Shetland Isles as a mark to end the Yule festivities. Hundreds of people would join the procession through the streets, guising (dressing up and performing, similar to mumming, another British folk tradition). Revellers would march through the streets in their costumes, drinking and merrymaking, all the while listening to the music of pipes and drums, winding their way along until they reach the bonfire. Today this celebration still occurs, and is a massive tourist attraction in Edinburgh.
A song popular all over Britain, but that is typically Scottish, Auld Lang Syne penned in the 17th century but most associated with the Scottish writer Robert Burns, Auld Lang Syne is the song for Hogmanay and the New Year in general ( as well as Burn’s night too). It’s a bittersweet song that looks back on times gone by just as we are all on the brink of looking forward. It reminds us of where we’ve come from, what we’ve been through and of the journey still to come.
First Footing (Scotland)
This custom was done to invite good luck for the coming year. On new years eve, as soon as midnight has passed, people would await a dark haired visitor. The visitor would carry some items: coal to symbolise warmth, bread to symbolise plenty, money for wealth and greenery to symbolise a long life. The guest would be the first person to cross the threshold, and when they departed, they would take some of the dust and ashes from the hearth to symbolise the taking out of the old. This is where the saying ‘in with the new and out with the old’ comes from.
Calennig (Wales)
The word ‘calennig’ literally translates as ‘the first day of the month’, but it is also a thing in and of itself. A calennig is an apple decorated with evergreens, twigs and dried fruit, said to bring luck and prosperity. These were gifted to friends, families and loved ones on January 1st to bring luck, health and prosperity for the coming year.
The Haxey Hood (England)
This event occurs on January 6th in Lincolnshire in the UK. It’s a game that is said to date back to the 14th century when the wife of a local landowner lost her hood in a gust of wind and some of the local workers chased after it. The game involves a leather cylinder around 2 feet in length and groups of people, usually men. It’s similar to rugby in a way, in that the point of the game is to move the hood along, however unlike rugby, a local pub is the scoring goal. Basically the aim of the game is to get the hood to your favourite pub!The game ends when the hood makes it to a pub and is touched by the landlord on his own premises.
The Allendale Tar Barrel Parade (England)
This weird and wonderful folk tradition still takes place today in Northumberland, UK. Hailing from the 1800’s, this parade involves local menfolk dressing up or guising, marching through the streets whilst carrying burning barrels of tar upon their heads. This occurs on December 31st, and in times gone by you either had to be born in the town or belong to a local family.
Remembering Lost Ones (Ireland)
On New Year’s Day, the table would be set and a place left empty for any family member or loved one who had passed the previous year. The front door would also be left unlocked so that the spirit of the loved one might find their way.
In Through The Front, Out Through The Back (Ireland)
The home has always been a central part of most people's lives and so it makes sense that so many folk New Year traditions should centre on the home, like this one from Ireland. Guests would enter through the front door on New Years Eve and would leave through the back door after midnight on New Year's Day. This means that only new arrivals would enter through the front door on New Years day itself, symbolising the going out of the old year and the coming in of the new.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about these folk traditions, and it gladdens me to know that they still continue today. If you liked what you’ve read, then why not explore the folk traditions of where you live. There’s a beauty to folk practices, a truth that we seem to have lost sight of in this modern world.
Wishing you all a very happy new year. Let’s make it one of rebellion and resistance.
EMMA KATHRYN
My name is Emma Kathryn, my path is a mixture of traditional European witchcraft, vodou and obeah, a mixture representing my heritage. I live in the sticks with my family where I read tarot, practice witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
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