Hogmanay
a New Year's tradition in Scotland
TRANSLATION
Hogmanay = die Silvesterfeier in Schottland --- GOOGLE INDEX Hogmanay: approximately 425,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Ambulance chiefs said they had their busiest night of the year during the HOGMANAY celebrations.
(BBC News)
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Edinburgh may be the most famous of the Scottish HOGMANAY celebrations, but there are still plenty of parties happening outside the city.
(The Scotsman)
(BBC News)
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Edinburgh may be the most famous of the Scottish HOGMANAY celebrations, but there are still plenty of parties happening outside the city.
(The Scotsman)
Did you
know?
Hogmanay
noun
- in Scotland, the last day of the year and the parties to celebrate it which start in the evening and continue until the next day
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Years Eve and can last for days. No-one celebrates the New Year quite like the Scots. It is believed they inherited this tradition from the Vikings and their celebration of the shortest day. However, many believe that as Christmas was virtually banned and not celebrated in Scotland from the end of the 17th century until the 1950’s, New Years Eve simply became a good excuse to party hard, drink whisky and eat lots of good food.
Hogmanay involves parties and festivals across Scotland with the largest and most famous public party in Edinburgh. At midnight Auld Lang Syne, Robert Burn's version of this traditional Scottish song, can be heard everywhere, followed by a toast to health, wealth and happiness for the coming year.
The parties are often followed by the tradition of "first footing." This involves visiting friends and family immediately after midnight by rushing from house to house to welcome in the New Year. The "first foot" in the house traditionally is a dark, handsome male carrying a piece of coal, whisky, Scottish shortbread and black bun - a rich dark fruitcake encased in pastry. The visitor is given a small glass of whisky in return.
(adapted from About.com)
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"This year I'll be spending Hogmanay with relatives in Edinburgh."
noun
- in Scotland, the last day of the year and the parties to celebrate it which start in the evening and continue until the next day
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Years Eve and can last for days. No-one celebrates the New Year quite like the Scots. It is believed they inherited this tradition from the Vikings and their celebration of the shortest day. However, many believe that as Christmas was virtually banned and not celebrated in Scotland from the end of the 17th century until the 1950’s, New Years Eve simply became a good excuse to party hard, drink whisky and eat lots of good food.
Hogmanay involves parties and festivals across Scotland with the largest and most famous public party in Edinburgh. At midnight Auld Lang Syne, Robert Burn's version of this traditional Scottish song, can be heard everywhere, followed by a toast to health, wealth and happiness for the coming year.
The parties are often followed by the tradition of "first footing." This involves visiting friends and family immediately after midnight by rushing from house to house to welcome in the New Year. The "first foot" in the house traditionally is a dark, handsome male carrying a piece of coal, whisky, Scottish shortbread and black bun - a rich dark fruitcake encased in pastry. The visitor is given a small glass of whisky in return.
(adapted from About.com)
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"This year I'll be spending Hogmanay with relatives in Edinburgh."
