In Scotland, Hogmanay, the 31st of December, is synonymous with bringing in the New Year. As a child, I can remember staying up until midnight for 'the bells', getting a small glass of non-alcoholic raspberry 'wine' and a piece of sultana cake, waiting to see who would be our 'first foot' (the first person to come over the threshold of the house in the New Year, hopefully someone tall, dark and handsome for good luck!) before being hustled off to bed. And that would be the end of my evening.
Earlier on that day/evening, my mum would have been busy. She was a great baker and would have made sultana cake and cherry cake, which she would have cut up into fingers. She bought in shortbread and also a sticky dark fruit cake called 'Black Bun', which I hated but which was my dad's favourite. The raspeberry 'wine' that I mentioned earlier would have been made by her too from a bottle of raspberry cordial, which was only sold in the shops in the run up to the end of the year, and then bottled in old lemonade bottles. She also made a similar ginger 'wine'. Both of those were loved by my dad, who was a tea-totaller (non-drinker of alcohol), as were all his family.
That did not stop my dad being a good Hogmanay host. He always had bottles of whisky in the house, as well as sherry and advocaat for the ladies, perhaps even little bottles of Babycham! After the bells at midnight, neighbours would pop round for a drink and a bit of cake and chat. Even on the years no-one popped round, mum was always well prepared, just in case.
Before I was hustled off to bed, we would have sat and watched TV. A programme called 'The White Heather Club' hosted by Scottish singer Andy Stewart was compulsory viewing, featuring other well known singers of Scottish songs such as Kenneth McKellar and Moira Anderson and of course, the highland dancers. All the men were kilted up and the ladies wore tartan dresses with white sashes. At the end of the programme, Andy Stewart always sang:
Haste ye back, we loue you dearly,
Call again you're welcome here.
May your days be free from sorrow,
And your friends be ever near.
May the paths o'er which you wander,
Be to you a joy each day.
Haste ye back we loue you dearly,
Haste ye back on friendship's way.
And of course, no New Year would have been complete without a rendering of Auld Lang Syne, the poem written by Robert Burns.
Have I carried on these traditions? Yes and no. The TV programmes have changed, though there is usually still a very Scottish feel to them, but I certainly don't watch them from beginning to end. I have no raspberry or ginger wine for any guests who may drop by, but I usually have plenty cake and alcohol available! And I can't remember the last time we had a 'first foot' after midnight. Nowadays 'tall, dark and handsome' has to be our black cat Bertie!
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