No one celebrates New Year like the Scots do and we even have our own name for it! Hogmanay! But what does it mean?

The actual linguistic origin of the word is unclear but it is likely derived from a number of possibilities: the Gaelic oge maidne (New Morning), Anglo-Saxon Haleg Monath (Holy Month), or Norman French word hoguinané, which was derived from the Old French anguillanneuf (gift at New Year).

The origin of the festival isn’t so shrouded in mystery and it all leads back to the pagan practice of sun and fire worship in deep mid-Winter with a dash of the Roman festival of Saturnalia and the Norse festival of Yule. Since the Dark Ages, the customs and traditions practiced at New Year always took precedence over Christmas. At that time, bonfires were lit and kept burning to ward away evil spirits and to encourage the return of the sun. During the Reformation in the 17th century, Christmas was frowned upon by the Kirk and eventually banned for being too Catholic, and would virtually remain so for the next 400 years. Since many Scots had to work on Christmas Day, even as late as the 1960s, the main winter holiday was always New Year when gifts would be exchanged. The Christmas we celebrate in this country today was introduced by Prince Albert in the 19th century and there are no real Scottish customs there.

The custom of giving gifts at Hogmanay has died out in favour of Christmas but the New Year traditions are still relevant today. The tradition of first footing basically means you will have a prosperous new year if a tall, dark stranger appears on your doorstep at the stroke of midnight with a lump of coal for the fire. The reason why the stranger has to be dark-haired stems from the fear associated with the memory of the blonde Norsemen who raped and pillaged their way through Scotland. Nowadays, first footers are more likely to be equipped with a wee dram of whiskey!

There are a lot of superstitions surrounding Hogmanay too, such as ensuring your house is cleaned from top to bottom and leaving no laundry undone, otherwise you will be cleaning all year round. You should also clear your debts by midnight to ensure a debt-free year.

The pagan tradition of lighting bonfires is also still practiced today in many cities, particularly the further North you go. The fire symbolises carrying the light of knowledge from the old year into the new one, and putting the darkness of the past behind you. One of the most famous fire celebrations takes place in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, where fireballs are swung to burn out the old year and any evil spirits.

The Scandinavian influence is also alive and well! In Lerwick, on the final Tuesday of January each year, known as Up-Helly-Aa, a fullsized Viking longship, flanked by torch-bearing Norse warriors is escorted through the streets before being set alight.

In more recent times, Edinburgh has become the place to be at Hogmanay with an annual four day Winter festival, culminating in a huge street party on 31 December. And if you can’t get to Edinburgh, there are various other cities and towns up and down the country, holding their own events.

And, of course, no respectable New Year party would be complete without a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne! The song is attributed to Scotland’s most famous poet, Rabbie Burns, but he actually reworked an older version of the song. All together now: