Why Happy New Year?

And why the first day of January?

Our ancestors took much more notice of nature than we do. We seem to believe our technology can overcome whatever nature throws at us.
Is this beginning to look like misplaced confidence?

My regular readers know how keen I am on relating ancient Celtic ways to modern practice.
I take pleasure on finding ancient sensible reasons for modern behaviour.

These days we ignore the movements of moon, stars and sun.
Around 2000 BC the then civilised world, meaning the land between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, (remember Iraq?) decided their New Year started with the first New Moon after the Spring Equinox.
This was when the world of Nature reminded the world of Man that the new season of rebirth and rebuilding had begun.
The first Day of Spring was a logical moment for a New Year to start.

Here also seems to have started the concept of making New Year Resolutions. Presumably those inhabitants were not interested in losing weight or giving up smoking, but it was their chosen day for returning borrowed equipment, paying off debts and other useful civilised matters.

The Romans had no worries about what the Sun was doing. Although they recognized late March as the New Year, various Emperors meddled about with dates until their calendar was out of sync with the Sun. By 153 BC January 1st became the agreed New Year’s Day.

In 46 BC Julius Caesar introduced the ‘Julian Calendar.’
To re-align the Roman world with the Sun he let the previous year develop 445 days.

All this meddling made things worse. Nobody dared to make alterations or improve this ‘status quo.’
The Julian Calendar had made the year of Man, slightly shorter than the year of Nature.

By the 1700’s the equinox dates had moved about ten days away from their natural positions.
England decided to take up the Gregorian calendar. The year of 1752 was chosen for the changeover. To cope with this equinox problem, Wednesday 2 September was followed by Thursday 14 September.

Unfortunately for some, the existing administration date for the end of the year was March 25. This date was normally stipulated in all legal arrangements.

Landlords and tax authorities would lose 11 days of revenue and rent.
Therefore the tax or ‘fiscal’ year was changed to end on April 4 giving the 365 revenue days required.
Another correction became necessary by 1800, so April 6 became the fiscal new year end.

The Roman system disguised other problems. Their calendar only allowed for 10 months. They were very keen on the figure ten. They had no name for the months of January or February. As explained above their administration New Year started on 1 March.

For January they chose to name the month after their god ‘Janus’ -their name for ‘door.’ This one has two faces, one looking back to the past year, the other forward to the new, thus representing the ‘Spirit of the Opening.’

Winter Solstice
In previous articles I wrote about the importance of this moment to agricultural Celts.
Their name samhain became absorbed by the later Roman celebration Saturnalia. People celebrated the event with complete freedom, lack of inhibition or restraint.
This continued for the twelve days of Yule, also known as the Daft Days.

What happens in Britain?
As you can imagine, our complex history throws up complex answers to that question.
There is a significant North/South divide. My previous articles have explained the origin reasons for such differences.

Draw a line from Bristol to Newcastle. That is one divide.
Another significant division is between England and Scotland.

The differing attitudes towards celebrating Christmas and New Year may astonish an outsider. Many Scots hardly recognize Christmas at all as something to celebrate.
The only day that matters to a Scot is New Years Eve.

My suspicion is the origin of this Scottish disinterest in Christmas began when Protestants disliked all this fun, pleasure and enjoyment. They made efforts to subdue such frivolity as soon as their ‘Reformation’ took hold.

Readers may be aware how similar this attitude is in France.
There are very old connections between these two countries.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was the daughter of King James the Fifth of Scotland.
She was married to Francis II of France, therefore was the Queen of France for short time. When she returned to Scotland she introduced many French customs to her courts and French words to her country.

Hogmanay
Other French connections may account for this name Scotsmen give to their New Year celebration.
Many ideas of possible origins should remember how most words were passed on verbally. This does not help modern tracing efforts which require written proof.

16th Century Old French for a New Year’s gift was ‘aguillanneuf’.
Modern French for New Year is ‘l’an neuf.’

On the island of Jersey, (an old established Norman possession ) ‘ma hodgingnole
Compare this with their neighbouring island of Guernsey ‘oguinane’
Both are a child’s demands for a gift, specifically at New Year.

Other French related ideas include;

Au gui mener au gui l’an neuf l’homme est ne

To the mistletoe to the mistletoe the New Year the man is born

The French custom is to give each other presents on the last day of the old year.
Poor people would walk the streets shouting ‘Au gui l’an neuf!’
In Normandy this became hoguinelo and the gifts were known as ‘hoguignetes.’

The north of Scotland prefer their Viking connection. The feast of Yule, was when animals were slaughtered ready for the winter. (See previous articles.)
Hagg means to cut or kill. The day before was called hoggo-nott. This may have become corrupted into hogenat or hogg night.

Other parts of Scotland have their own ideas.
In Galloway they spell the word hag me nay, in the Shetlands they use huggeranohni.

The Highlands still preserve the custom of ‘saining.’ This ritual is to protect and bless the household.
Early New Year’s Day is spent burning branches, usually from Juniper trees- but inside the house. Water is sprinkled around and inside the house. Every room and its contents are included, meaning beds and inhabitants, and the house sealed. All must suffer the choking smokey air until they are coughing and sneezing in a realistic manner!
Doors and windows are flung open, letting new cold fresh air to enter with the New Year.

Restoration by whisky is followed by a hearty breakfast.

Although areas of Scotland developed their own versions of Hogmanay, the giving of presents, consumption of alcoholic drink, and various communal versions of a party are found in most of them.
It seems the further North you go the more interest there is in fire.
I am sure this is a throwback to Viking days.


The fishing village of Stonehaven in North East Scotland is famous for its fireball swinging.
Chicken wire and tar are formed into a ball. Each ball has about six feet of wire or rope attached.
On the stroke of the town hall clock’s bell for midnight, the assembled 30-40 swingers march up and down swinging their fireballs round their heads until it goes out, or their energies expire.
In the dark it can be very dramatic and moving.
12,000 people witnessed the event last year.

The Edinburgh hogmanay street party must be one of the largest in the world.
High winds and heavy rain seems to be the only way of stopping it.

Burning Boats
Continuing north, Aberdeen have a tradition of burning an old boat, but on the old hogmanay date of January 11th.
The idea is to warn off the witches who wreck boats at Donmouth harbour entrance.

The ultimate boat burning ceremony must be at Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.
On the last Tuesday of January, the Festival of Up Helly-aa requires the building of a complete Viking boat, including oars and shields.

On the night some villagers dressed as Vikings, pull the boat to the beach surrounded by other villagers carrying fire torches.
After three cheers, a bugle call is sounded. The boat is burnt.

Many Shetlanders living away, make the effort to return home for this important ceremony.


Auld Lang Syne
This traditional poem was modified by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Singing it has become routine throughout the world to mark the midnight hour as the New Year’s Day arrives.
The World usually links arms throughout the song. Scotsmen link for the last verse.

The First Footing
The first person to step into a Scottish house in the new year is an incredibly important person.
He will be the ‘First Footing.’ He can make all the difference to the entire year that follows.
The Scots are very superstitious.
It is such an important matter, some households make arrangements beforehand as to who will arrive first and hold this honour.

Very unwelcome indeed will be;

A medical doctor,
a minister of Religion,
a thief,
a grave digger,
a handicapped person,
someone with flat feet,
someone whose eyebrows meet.

Also not wanted as a first visitor are,
someone short in height,
anyone with fair or red hair,
anyone carrying something sharp such as a knife,
any woman.

Most welcome will be tall, black haired men, carrying a gift. Others had better wait outside.


Those planning to be first footers should carry

a bottle (yes Scotch to offer hospitality)
a lump of coal (to show the house will be warm)
a black bun or piece of shortcake, (to show there will not be any hunger this year)
a silver coin ( to encourage prosperity to come during the year)

Hogmanay Toast

Lang may yer lum reek!
Long may your chimney smoke. (long may you be able to buy the coal.)

Recent articles of Doug R.:

• ~Boxing Day

• ~What is a British Christmas?

• ~Old Russian Connections

• ~Noises in November

• ~Dead Connections (Halloween)

• ~Who organises your bread?

• ~Simple Misunderstandings

• ~Why Look East?

DOUG R. (England)

Published in Woman's Magazine Russian Woman Journal  www.russianwomanjournal.com - 1 January 2009