A YEAR OF TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS .sx At first sight the everyday life of Scotland seems to have swept aside the customs of the past .sx But look closer and these old traditions can still be seen , sometimes as minor events , at other times in various parts of the nation as a major diversion for a day or so .sx Climbing to the high tops of the mountains at midsummer , burning Viking longships , guisers round the door , fire festivals and the special baking of rich cakes all play their part in a way of life which echoes and acknowledges the old ways .sx Yuletide and Hogmanay .sx Rise up , auld wifie , and shak your feathers , .sx Dinna think that we are beggars ; .sx For we are bairns come out to play , .sx Rise up and gie us our Hogmanay .sx .sx The best-known festival , and one that is celebrated nation-wide , is Hogmanay , the 31st December .sx The name is thought to relate to the north French dialect word hoginane , meaning 'a gift at the New Year' .sx However , it has also been suggested that it is French dialect au gui menez , meaning 'to the mistletoe go' formerly cried by mummers ; or , equally plausibly , au geux menez , meaning 'bring to the beggars' , a reminder of the giving of gifts associated with this time of year .sx Until very recently Hogmanay was probably the most important celebration in the Scottish calendar , and for some Scots it still is .sx At one time it all but eclipsed Christmas for many in Scotland .sx Now , because of the mostly English-based broadcasting media as well as high street stores UK-wide , Christmas is probably celebrated as much north of the border as in the south , though the Scots tend to hold a bit of their festive spirit back for Hogmanay .sx It is thought that the Scots' preoccupation with Hogmanay came about because of the efforts of the Presbyterian church , after the Reformation , to extinguish all Catholic holy days of which the Feast of the Nativity - that is Christmas - was the principal .sx The Hogmanay celebration of the passing beyond midwinter to a time of lengthening daylight is surely grafted on to very early traditions .sx The ancient Druid priests are said to have initiated the festival of Yuletide , which in Scotland became 'the hallowed days of Yule' of the balladeers , covering Hogmanay and the first week of January .sx The Norse also had their own midwinter season of Jul , which actually continued for 24 days and included the winter solstice .sx In rural areas especially , up to the 1950s , possibly even more recently , many factories and other work places stayed open on Christmas Day , although all closed for the New Year .sx Children , particularly in the east coast fishing communities , hung up their stockings at Hogmanay , secure in the knowledge that Santa Claus ( never Father Christmas ) would work a late shift especially for their benefit .sx Hogmanay rituals .sx Habits change with each succeeding generation .sx The stroke of midnight on the 31st December once carried with it a great weight of ritual which varied from place to place , and survives to varying degrees .sx The household fire , the very symbol of life and warmth in the long bleak nights of a northern winter , had to be tended so that it was blazing brightly at midnight .sx This ensured sufficient prosperity in the household to keep the fire lit for the next 12 months .sx In some places the door of the household was opened to let out the old year , then closed as the chimes of midnight died away .sx In others , it was flung open to welcome in the New Year .sx Ships in dock still sound their sirens as in former times , while in the days of steam locomotives , any in steam at the depot at midnight were likewise given a blast of the whistle .sx Other time-honoured practices included acknowledging New Year by wearing something new and cleaning the house thoroughly to make it look like new and so ready for the New Year .sx The custom of 'first footing' still survives .sx Ideally , the first visitor over the threshold after midnight should be a dark and handsome male stranger bearing gifts , particularly those connected with food or the hearth .sx The dark complexion of the first foot is considered important .sx Redheads are not considered a good omen , and women are also thought unlucky .sx Sometimes the household resorts to pushing out into the cold night any half-presentable male who happens to be in the house just before midnight , re-admitting him with his symbols of light and warmth .sx Peat ( particularly in the Highlands ) and coal were commonly used as symbols of household comfort and warmth ; and some Scots keep the tradition alive today by solemnly entering a household with a small , perhaps carefully washed , piece of smokeless fuel .sx As for other symbolic gifts which first foots might bring , in the east coast fishing communities this might well have been a herring .sx This custom somehow transplanted itself to Dundee in particular , where the fishy token might even be dressed up with ribbons and lace and tied to the door of the visited house if the occupants were out .sx Symbolically attired or otherwise , this humble fish carried with it the token of prosperity .sx Cakes and Cake Day .sx Food at New Year was also special and not just for its symbolic content .sx The tradition of rich fare , of shortbread and especially black bun ( a rich fruit cake in a pastry crust ) , continues .sx Perhaps it has always had an incidental function :sx to soak up the quantities of liquid hospitality which have for so long been a part of the Scottish Hogmanay .sx Even so , the best of ingredients would be reserved for this most important occasion .sx Walkers of Aberlour bake black bun , shortbread and Dundee Cake and thus remain in the mainstream of tradition , their quality fare an important part of the Scottish way of celebrating Hogmanay .sx However , some of the regional treats have been lost .sx In earlier times , special cakes were baked in St Andrews in Fife for its own version of Hogmanay called Cake Day .sx These cakes were given out to children by local shops , a practice certainly not confined to St Andrews .sx In fact , Scottish children would once have gone around the neighbourhood 'asking for their Hogmanay' from households and shops .sx In some places they dressed themselves in flowing sheets ( perhaps echoing the Druids ) , which were then folded to form a large pocket or apron .sx As they went round the community they chanted Yuletide rhymes , such as the one on page 116 , or :sx Ma feet's cauld , ma sheen's din , shoes worn out .sx gie's ma cakes and let's rin .sx run .sx When the pocket on each apron was full the children went home , where the cakes proved a welcome bonus in many a poor household .sx Often cakes were ( and still are ) baked at home as well .sx In the west of Scotland , for instance , an oat bannock was baked for each child in the family .sx These particular cakes were given a patterned edge and had a hole in the middle .sx They were also flavoured with caraway seeds .sx If any broke during the baking this was considered an ill omen for the child for whom it was intended .sx It is an interesting footnote to this now-extinct custom that the cake's wavy or patterned edge is also characteristic of shortbread rounds .sx Some say this is a symbol of the sun and is perhaps a curious echo of festive cakes baked for ceremonies or rituals connected with the sun worship of the Druids .sx Modified and handed down over so many generations , it can be difficult to interpret the original meanings - particularly as although the Druids held their rites in public their doctrines were secret and never written down .sx Fire festivals .sx What can be made of the age-old tradition in Stonehaven , and elsewhere , of swinging fireballs in the streets at New Year ?sx When midnight strikes , the fireballs are lit and swung round and round by means of attached wires .sx Burghead , further along the coast from Stonehaven and facing the Moray Firth , varies the theme by holding its fire festival on 11th January - the old Hogmanay before the calendar was changed in 1600 .sx The event is known as 'Burning of the Clavie' ( the origin of this word is lost in obscurity) .sx The Clavie King and his men carry a flaming half-barrel mounted on a pole along the streets of Burghead , following a traditional route .sx Finally the flaming barrel is taken to nearby Doorie Hill .sx ( In former times each individual boat in the harbour was also visited by the Clavie .sx In 1875 it is recorded that a new vessel was named Doorie in a ceremony with the burning Clavie , which also involved the sprinkling of grain on her decks .sx ) After the Clavie is fixed to the hilltop more fuel is added to the blaze , eventually leaving the dying embers which become sought after good luck charms , credited with bringing protection to the household for a year .sx In Comrie , in Perthshire , another fire ceremony survives .sx Here the New Year is ushered in by the lighting of giant torches on large birch poles , which are then carried in procession about the town .sx The young men of Falkland in Fife still climb the East Lomond Hill with their torches .sx Flames of one sort or another were , and remain , a common feature of the Scots Hogmanay or New Year in many parts of the country .sx In spite of the Church trying to stamp out such pagan practices over the centuries , many hilltops used to be lit with bonfires to welcome in the New Year .sx Handsel Monday .sx Today , though some traditions have gone , the spirit of a new start with renewed friendship and contact with neighbours is still strong in Scotland .sx Gifts , especially of food , play an important part .sx Another aspect of the week-long yuletide festivities survived until quite recently :sx the celebration of Handsel Monday .sx This was the equivalent of England's Boxing Day , but took place on the first Monday of the New Year .sx Tradition demanded that presents should be given as tokens of goodwill , especially to servants or to anyone performing a service to the householder .sx This would even extend to giving extra feed to working animals .sx A curious variation on Handsel Monday which grew up in certain rural areas was that , although gift giving was duly observed , it was considered unlucky to handle money on Handsel Monday - which may have helped create the national stereotype of the thrifty Scot .sx Although virtually forgotten now , Handsel Monday was another highlight in the otherwise 'dreich' ( dull and miserable ) days of January .sx How fortunate that Robert Burns was born on the 25th of the month , thereby giving the Scots cause for another celebration to keep them cheerful in the long nights .sx ( Burns Suppers and the poet himself have already been described in Chapter Six .sx ) .sx Up-Helly-Aa It may not be a coincidence that Shetland , the most northerly part of Scotland , and where the nights are longest , squeezes in an extra deep-winter celebration .sx This is called Up-Helly-Aa and takes place on 29th January .sx Up-Helly-Aa can be roughly taken to mean the end of the holidays - a reference to the end of the 24-day period in the old Viking festival of Jul .sx In common with other winter festivals , fire played an important part in this season .sx Until the 1870s , the men of Lerwick ( the chief town of the islands ) pulled burning tar barrels through the narrow streets of the town on primitive sleighs or stretchers at the end of this festival period .sx When the authorities became nervous about damage to property and outlawed the tar barrel , a torchlight procession was instigated .sx Then local pride in the islands' Norse past resulted in the introduction of a specially-made Viking galley in 1889 .sx This made a spectacular show when burned and the 'tradition' has continued ever since .sx The day of Up-Helly-Aa ( which most Shetlanders consider the most important in the festive calendar ) starts with the Jarl Squad , an elite group permitted to wear Viking costume , unveiling their hand-built galley .sx Separately , at the market cross in Lerwick ( the islands' capital ) , a lengthy written discourse , known as 'the Bill' is displayed .sx