Hogmanay
(Or Hagman(a)e, Hagmonay, Hagmonick, Hanginay, Hangmanay, Hogernoany, Hogminay, Hogmenay, Hogmynae, Hoguemennay, Huggeranohni, Hu(i)gmanay, …)
I’m going to wait for a moment and let all the non-British folks to rack your brain for what you think this may be. DON’T CHEAT!
I’ll wait.
<<insert Final Jeopardy music>>
Well, for the non-British folks in our audience, did you get it without google? And if you said that the picture of David Tennant was what finally jogged your memory, then we are definitely meant to be friends!
Hogmanay is the Scottish term for New Year’s Eve, but it is so much more than that! Hogmanay has long been celebrated by the people of the northern British Isles with a complex history and cultural significance. There’s as many variations to the traditions as there are Loches and for some it is a bigger annual celebration than Christmas.
Since this is a blog about Jane Austen primarily, here’s my shoe-horning 😊. It’s reasonable that the characters in Austen’s books would have known about, and maybe even celebrated, Hogmanay in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Especially her characters who hail from the Northern regions, like Mr. Darcy. It is also reasonable to consider that the wealthiest characters would have had a smaller estate in Scotland and would have visited a few times in their lives to those more remote parts of their holdings. Again, Mr. Darcy is a potential for such extensive holdings, and perhaps the Bertrams with their overseas estates as well. While it is not explicit in the original book, many people have decided that the Bingley family is from Yorkshire, which is definitely in the sphere of influence for the spread of Hogmanay traditions.
So, now that the connection is rock solid, here’s just some info dumping about Hogmanay.
The origins of Hogmanay are complex, reflecting a blend of influences from pagan rituals, Norse customs, and Roman festivities. The winter solstice celebrations of the ancient Celts, marked by fire and feasting, likely provided the earliest foundations for Hogmanay. Norse settlers in Scotland also brought their own midwinter traditions, including the celebration of Yule, which featured gift-giving, bonfires, and communal gatherings. Over time, these practices merged with Roman Saturnalia customs introduced during the Roman occupation of Britain. The people of Scotland seem to have taken all the most fun bits of each of these traditions and kept them alive over the millennia to form what we today know as Hogmanay.
By the late Georgian and Regency periods in England, the Hogmanay celebration had become a distinctly Scottish tradition that flourished during the English Reformation, a period starting about 1647 when the radically Puritan English Parliament outlawed Christmas. Seven years before the official banning of Christmas in London, the Calvinist Presbyterians, who ran the church in Scotland, and who were Puritan in all but name, had banned Christmas as well.
So, it was natural that the Scottish people took especially well to the traditions of celebrating the new year with increased vigor and continue to celebrate Hogmanay with greater prominence even after the Puritans lost their hold on the English government. Hogmanay’s influence has been primarily felt in the northern English counties, particularly those close to the Scottish border, such as Northumberland and Cumbria. In these areas, cultural exchange and proximity to Scotland mean that certain Hogmanay traditions have spilled over and are practiced by certain English people today.
Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland are characterized by a mix of solemn rituals and boisterous revelry. Central to these customs are themes of purification, renewal, and hospitality, which manifest in various ways across different regions of the country.
Some of the most common traditions include:
First-Footing: One of the most enduring and widely practiced Hogmanay traditions is first-footing. The “first-foot” refers to the first person to cross the threshold of a home after midnight, and their arrival is believed to set the tone for the coming year. Ideally, the first-footer is a tall, dark-haired man, as this is considered a harbinger of good fortune. Fair-haired or red-haired visitors are viewed with suspicion, a lingering association with Viking invasions. The first-footer often carries symbolic gifts such as coal (to ensure warmth), bread (to ensure sustenance), and whisky (to ensure good cheer). In return, the first-footer is offered food and drink, to celebrate hospitality and community.
Cleaning and Purification: In preparation for Hogmanay, households engage in thorough cleaning, known as “redding the house.” This practice symbolizes the clearing out of old, negative influences to make way for a fresh start. Hearths are swept, debts are settled, and disputes are tried to be resolved. These acts of cleansing and reconciliation reflect a deep cultural emphasis on renewal and the importance of starting the new year with a clean slate. This has a significant relationship with the tradition of “making New Years Resolutions” that the Americans here are probably more familiar with.
Fire Ceremonies: Fire plays a significant role in Hogmanay celebrations, echoing ancient solstice rituals. Bonfires are lit in villages and towns, particularly in rural areas, to ward off evil spirits and symbolize the light of the new year. In some regions, tar barrels might be set ablaze and rolled through the streets, creating a dramatic and communal spectacle. The practice of carrying torches or blazing barrels is particularly notable in the Highlands and northeast of Scotland. For example, in Stonehaven, the fireball ceremony involves participants swinging flaming balls of tar on long chains, a tradition that continues to this day. These fiery displays embody the enduring belief in the purifying and protective power of fire.
Feasting and Drinking: Every good party needs libations! Food and drink are central to Hogmanay festivities, with households preparing special dishes to share with guests and the community. Black bun, a rich fruitcake encased in pastry, is a traditional treat, along with oatcakes, shortbread, and other baked goods. Whisky flows freely, providing figurative and literal warmth for guests. During the crucial time when Christmas celebrations were outlawed, some of the traditional Christmas feast items got transferred to the Hogmanay celebrations and continue to be enjoyed today.
Guising/Wassailing and Singing: Wassailing, often called Guising in Scottish, is a practice associated with both Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Revellers travel from house to house, sometimes in costumes, offering skits, songs, and blessings in exchange for treats (this sounds like a very different American Holiday). The wassail bowl, filled with whisky spiced ale or cider, is provided by the hosts and the party gets more and more fun as the night progresses.
While the celebration of the New Year is one of humanity’s oldest and most universal traditions, rooted in ancient customs and cultural practices, everyone does it a little bit differently. The French drink champagne. The Germans melt lead (Bleigießen) to predict the future and drink flaming mulled wine. Japanese people visit shrines and eat mochi (which is top notch yummy). Indigenous and African-descended communities in the Americas have continued to observe beautiful traditions such as offering gifts to Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea. Among the Maori of New Zealand, the New Year is marked by the rise of the Matariki star cluster (Pleiades) in the southern hemisphere midwinter (June/July) and signifies a time for remembrance, planning, and celebration, with feasting and storytelling.
Even with the widespread adoption of the Gregorian calendar, many cultures around the world continue to honor their past while celebrating the future. From the fiery rituals of Scotland to the lunar festivities of China, new years’ celebrations worldwide reflected humanity’s enduring desire to embrace renewal as the new year dawns.
So, Lang May Yer Lum Reek (may your fire never run out of fuel / may your chimney forever smoke).
Now for Something Completely Different!
Today I am launching a new, regular giveaway campaign with other Small, Indie, and Self-published authors.
Page Turners is a place for independent authors to join together to find new readers and delight our audiences with Free Books! About every other week – Starting Today! – five indie authors will come together to do a cross genre giveaway. The winner will get 5 paperbacks, one from each author, and some extra goodies in their box.
My goal is to include authors who represent a diverse set of authors in the various Romance, Women’s Lit, Historical, Fantasy, YA & Cozy genres. This includes books that are all along the spice level from completely clean to spicy, LGBTQIA+ inclusive authors and narratives, diverse religious backgrounds, disability, body positivity, and size inclusivity.
And don’t worry, there will be plenty of traditional and modern JAFF stories up for grabs too!
There will always be 2 ways to enter. The main way will be to engage with the Instagram Post from @stormhauspublishing. All the authors for each giveaway will be posted and linked so you can see what’s on offer each week.
The second way will be to sign-up for the Page Turners’ email list at our website – https://www.stormhauspublishing.com/page-turners. Don’t miss your chance to win a bunch of freebies from some of your favorite authors and fine some new favorites!
Today’s Giveaway!
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