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Hogmanay
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New Year's celebration in Scotland
Hogmanay! This cry goes up all over Scotland on New Year's Eve amidst fires, feasting, drinking and gift-giving. We may know the festival well but what of the word? It is of obscure origin, possibly derived from Gaelic "oge maidne" which means "new morning" or maybe "hogunnus" for "new year."
The celebration that draws thousands of people to dance in the streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow each year has certainly evolved from ancient Celtic midwinter fire festivals. Hogmanay is still the most important holiday of the year for many Scots, even above Christmas. Christmas, in fact, was banned during the Protestant Reformation of the late 17th century and was not celebrated for the next several hundred years, while Hogmanay was faithfully celebrated every New Year's Eve. There are many Hogmanay customs to assure good fortune, the most famous of which is the "first footing." Traditionally, it is believed that the type of person who first sets foot in your home after midnight on New Year's Eve is an omen of how your luck will go during the coming year. The best "first footer" is someone who brings gifts, such as whiskey (of course!) or symbolic good luck tokens such as a piece of coal, a small loaf of black bread or shortbread, salt, or a coin. Not only that, but everyone hopes the first footer will be tall, dark and handsome. Memories of the Viking invasion linger on and therefore a fair-haired, blue-eyed first-footer is not considered to be a lucky portent. Other Hogmanay traditions correspond with new year's eve practices that can be found anywhere in the world. The house should be given a good cleaning before midnight and censed with a purifying herb such as juniper or rosemary. Naturally, fire is an important part of the celebration too, from huge public bonfires and torchlight processions through the streets to smooring and re-kindling the hearth at home and lighting candles for the new year. Even if the oldest Hogmanay customs are not kept, vestiges of these ancient practices still remain as friends gather by firelight in each other's homes, raise a glass of whiskey and sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight to see the New Year in by looking forward to brighter days ahead. |
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Indonesia or the Dutch East Indies
Brigantes Abu! Clan Mulrian A Walk Through the Temple of Amun The Precinct of Mut at Ipet-Isut The Festival of Opet at Waset The First Gods The First Queens The First Kings The First Cities The First Artefacts Fauces Image Overview of the Abydos Area Chocolate — I can't live without it! Hewitt and O'Direain's Thoughts Joyce Vs. O'Conaire Agriculture: A Choice The Gods at Abydos: Ptah The Temple Building in Ancient Egypt title Oracle of Wadjet Ancient Egyptian Religion 1: Ma'at and the Eternal Return Ancient Egyptian Religion 2: Ma'at and Divine Kingship Ancient Egyptian Religion 3: Temples and Priests Ancient Egyptian Religion 4: The Conditions of Priesthood Ancient Egyptian Religion 5: The Levels of Priesthood Ancient Egyptian Religion 6: The Service of Priesthood Abusir, The Realm of Osiris Castrum Moguntiacum Ovid on Salmacis & Hermaphroditus |
