New Year's Eve is celebrated all over the world, but Scotland has plenty to apply for the biggest celebration thanks to its traditions that surround Hogmanay.
While the origins of the word are not clear (it could come from Gaelic, Flemish, or Anglo-Saxon), its most likely origin is
hoguinan
, which means "New Year's gift" in Old Norman.
In Scotland, this holiday is historically of greater significance than Christmas.
In fact, it was not until 1958 that December 25 became a public holiday, and 1974 that Boxing Day (December 26) was also.
With the Scottish Reformation, the very serious Presbyterian Church banned, as early as 1583, celebrations linked to Catholicism and looked very dimly on all occasions leading to excess food, alcohol and socializing.
As the rest of the UK reunited with family for Christmas, Scots have postponed the festivities until December 31.
Read also: Covid-19: three places in the world to celebrate (despite everything) the New Year
Festivities across the country
The main shopping artery, Princes Street, is blocked on December 31 for the traditional street party.
Susie Gray (TCSPR)
For three days, the whole country beats to the rhythm of the festivals that characterize Hogmanay.
In Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, the Fireballs Festival is a parade where flaming paper and wood balls are hung from the end of a rope to spin them like circus bolas.
Still on the theme of fire, in Burghead, in the Moray region of neighboring Aberdeen, a burning barrel circulates in the city before finishing its combustion on a hill.
Collecting embers or charcoal from this fire is said to bring good luck, so it is sent to the people of Burghead who no longer live in the town.
Further north, in the Orkney archipelago, up to 350 people indulge in
Ba Game
, a giant football in the streets of the city of Kirkwall, on New Year's Day.
But it is in the capital Edinburgh that the festivities, this year entirely online, are the most spectacular.
All of Princes Street, the main shopping thoroughfare, is blocked off to be the site of a street party that brings together 75,000 people, with concerts by Scottish and international stars (Mark Ronson was on the decks last year), a
ceilidh
and a gigantic fireworks display from the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle which lights up the sky over the capital.
Read also: 48 hours in Edinburgh: our tips for enjoying a timeless capital
To fight hangovers, revelers take part in Loony Dook on January 1: more than a thousand brave people dress up to bathe in the icy waters of the Forth River which flows into the North Sea.
Unfortunately this year, most public events have been canceled due to the pandemic.
You will therefore have to do Scottish Hogmanay from the comfort of your living room, and respecting the sanitary instructions!
Traditions to observe at home
After midnight, it is customary to visit relatives and neighbors by bringing gifts.
In exchange, he is offered a glass of whiskey.
Svittlana / Adobe Stock
Before you get on your 31st, get started with the New Year's cleaning!
What better way to start 2021 than to make a clean sweep with clean and tidy habitat?
Get rid of what you don't need, tidy up your cupboards, and disinfect everything.
Redding the house
is arguably the most Covid-compatible Hogmanay practice.
Take the opportunity to put your finances in order: pay your bills and debts, to get off to a healthy start.
The idea of sanitation, so important for the transition to the new year, is also found in an old Highland tradition:
the saining of the house
.
It is about purifying the house and the animals, if you have any, with the sacred water of a nearby river.
It is then necessary to pass from room to room with the cleaning smoke of a branch of juniper on fire (the fumigation of juniper is, since Antiquity, considered disinfectant).
Finally, open the doors and windows wide to let the New Year's air blow the smoke away.
Read also: Scotland: on the beautiful shores of Loch Lomond, the beginning of the Highlands at the gates of Glasgow
After the stroke of midnight, it is common to sing
Auld Lang Syne
, known to French speakers as
It is only a goodbye
, written by the great Scottish poet Robert Burns.
All the guests fold their arms and hold hands to sing this hymn to friendship that has stood the test of years, the melody of which everyone knows.
Even with compulsory distancing, the communion effect is guaranteed.
The
first-jogging
, the first step is another popular Hogmanay practice dating back to Viking times. After midnight, it is customary to visit relatives and neighbors by bringing gifts: dried fruit cakes, cookies, or a little charcoal to help keep the home warm. In exchange, he is offered a glass of whiskey. It is believed that if the first visitor of the year is a handsome tall, dark man, it will bring you luck ...