Traditional pursuits in January in UK
First-footing
is practised in the Isle of Man, Scotland and Northern England on New Year’s
Day and may take place immediately after midnight on New Year’s Eve. The first
foot is the first person to enter the house on New Year’s Day and is the
bringer of good luck.
Ideally, he should be tall and dark and should not have been in the house when the bells strike midnight. He may step out before the chimes and come back in or he may be a completely new visitor.
Traditionally, the first-footer brought a gift of coal to symbolise warmth for the household. In modern times, the bearer might bring whisky and shortbread, warming in a different manner. Fair-haired men were thought to be unlucky first-footers perhaps because of their association with blond Viking invaders of yore. Women had no place in the proceedings, being thought to presage ill fortune.
what about a bottle of wine and some shortbread?
ReplyDeleteThat will do nicely:-)
DeleteThat's quite sad for the fair-haired men.
ReplyDeleteOld prejudices hold hard . . .
DeleteInteresting! I'd never heard this. If anyone first foots into my house, quite sadly, they'd be catching me in my nightgown.
ReplyDeleteLikewise.
DeleteAny first footer here wouldn't have been able to gain access. We were sound asleep by 10 pm.
ReplyDeleteI was woken at midnight by fireworks!
DeleteHaHa! After a few glasses of the above liquid...
ReplyDeleteWho cares who comes over the threshold first..
More like who's the first to fall over it first...! :).
And..l'll stick to my odd glass of Bourbon, on
the rocks, topped up with a dash of coke...(the
liquid type)....! :).
'Women had no place in the proceedings, being
thought to presage ill fortune'....HeHe! Yep! I'm
all for that...
Never~the~less....A Happy New Year to one and all.
🥂🍾☃️🎊🎉😘❤ 🥂🍾☃️🎊🎉😘❤ 🥂🍾☃️🎊
'Women should know their place' and all that . . .
DeleteA happy new year to you and yours. We had a very quiet evening and preferred to let 2023 go out on a fizzle. We will start 2024 quiegly bug with determination and see where it takes us all - especially those in war zones.
ReplyDeleteThank you, TM. We were in bed well before midnight.
DeleteHappy new year to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteThank you and to you, too.
DeleteWe had a quiet evening but stayed up until midnight to hear the bells chime and see the fireworks. Then it was straight to bed.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great start to 2024 x
The fireworks here woke me up at midnight.
ReplyDeleteI was fair when little (see profile photo). It was only when asked to step out to do first footing at the age of about 16 did I realise how dark my hair had become.
ReplyDeleteNot a vain child, then - I can't imagine any of the children in my family not knowing how they look - they cannot pass a mirror!
DeleteI'm glad the Vikings who came to England were Danish, not Swedish. I had whitish blond hair as a child, now, it's just white, but with a nice platinum shade, so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteWell, not so different from your youth, then:-)
DeleteSo true, and my best friend lives in Copenhagen, and when I did my DNA, Ancestry seemed to think our two countries were the same, so I'm according to them, Danish/Swedish. But, it's all in good fun.
DeleteThe tall dark man could have been Rick ! I spent my time answering phone calls, had a nice meal, watched "keeping appearances" which makes laugh, went to bed and switched off the light after the mini fire work. I didn't feel like partying or going out with the others.
ReplyDeleteI didn't feel like partying or going out with the others.
I haven't been out on New Year's Eve for years and years :-)
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting traditional pursuit which was previously unknown to me! xxx
ReplyDeleteIt sounds fun, though I think the first footer ought to be someone familiar, not a stranger these days! x x x
DeleteInteresting read ...
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you and your family.
All the best Jan
Thank you, Jan.
DeleteWishing you and your family a happy new year and good health! I'm so pleased to have "discovered" your blog in 2023.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you - that's so kind:-)
DeleteInteresting little tidbit.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a shame for such customs to die out.
DeleteAs usual, an interesting post. I am happy to say that our first footer was my tall good-looking hubby (Does that count? :~) As Stephanie mentioned above, I, too, am happy that I discovered your blog in 2023.
ReplyDeleteYou are fortunate in having your very own first footer;-) I am pleased to have made your acquaintance, too.
DeleteTall might have been a struggle back in the days when everyone was so short. Relatively tall I suppose. Tall or short, dark or fair, a visitor bringing Scotch would be most welcome.
ReplyDelete. . . or any other gift . . . In a time of short people Henry VIII was an exception - he was 6' when the majority of men were around 5'6'' - just a random fact for you. (I can kill conversation dead in two seconds!)
DeleteI've never experienced first footing but rather like the idea.x x x
ReplyDelete