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.
