Scottish Country Dance of the Day

Farewell to the old year with hopes for the new. Happy New Year to all from Scottish Country Dance of the Day!

Originally enjoyed on Christmas and Twelfth Night, Black Bun is now consumed year round, but most traditionally on Hogmanay Night. The great Scottish folklorist F. Marian McNeill writes: “Black bun is the old Scottish Twelfth Night Cake which was transferred to Hogmanay after the banning of Christmas and its subsidiary festival, Uphalieday, or Twelfth Night, by the Reformers.” So, enjoy your fierce raisin devils and gay currant sprites with impunity - recipe included!

The word Hogmanay has taken on various meanings at one time, and has meant a new year’s gift for children, usually of fruit, bread, or oatcakes. “First footing” (or the “first foot” in the house after midnight) is a still common tradition across Scotland. In general, to ensure good luck for the house the first foot should be a dark-haired male, and he should bring with him symbolic pieces of a silver coin, bread or black bun, salt, coal, and a wee dram of whisky to represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer respectively. However, historically, regional variations for the preferred first foot varied widely. in parts of Fife, for example, red-haired men with flat feet were preferred, while in parts of Victorian England, a first-footed ginger-haired man (or one whose eyebrows joined), was considered a bad omen!

The classic Hogmanay greeting, "Lang May Your Lum Reek," literally meaning ‘long may your chimney smoke’, is also the best way to wish someone a long and healthy life. And should you choose to augment this classic line, you can append "Wi' ither folks coal! (With other people's coal!), an add-on said to have originated in Edinburgh!🏭