Here's a bit about Hogmonay in general:
Hogmanay: A cracking good time DIANE MACLEAN
UNTIL relatively recently Christmas was not celebrated in Scotland. During the Scottish Reformation it was regarded as popish and superstitious. The holiday was apparently too much like good fun for the rather dour brand of Calvinism adopted by John Knox and his followers. They took this so seriously that for 400 years Christmas was effectively banned.
Whilst the Reformers could ban Christmas, they had no say at all in the celebration of the New Year. Right up until the 1950s, New Year was the major event of the festive season - except Scots don't celebrate New Year, they celebrate Hogmanay.
After all this time, there is still no consensus on what Hogmanay means. Hogmanay as we know it is a cocktail of various different religious and social rituals. Initially it was a Druid or pagan celebration, probably to do with the winter solstice. Elements of the Roman festival of Saturnalia and the Viking celebrations of Yule can also be found in the celebrations in Scotland.
In Translation:
Gaelic - oge maiden, "new morning"
Celtic - hogunnus,
"new year"
Flemish - hoog min dag, "great love day"
Old French - aguillanneuf, a gift given on last day of the year
Old English - haleg monaþ, "holy month"
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New Year gifts
and their symbolism:
Coal = Warmth
Cake = Food
Salt = Wealth
It has always been important to go into Hogmanay with a clean sweep, both literally and metaphorically. Before Hogmanay, a huge spring clean begins, although few houses continue with the older tradition of burning juniper to rid the house of evil spirits. Socks are darned, windows washed and, where possible, life resolutions are undertaken.
On the stroke of midnight it is still common for houses to be "first footed" by a tall, handsome stranger bearing gifts. Although the first-footer is seldom a stranger, it is preferable that he is dark. This harks back to days of Viking invaders when a fair-haired man knocking at your door was more likely to inspire terror than pleasure.
Until quite recently the first-footer was subject to a rather rigorous code of looks. Out-of-date now, there was a time when a first-footer should not be flat-footed, cross-eyed or have their eyebrows meeting (thought to denote the evil eye). All congenitally disabled people were feared as first-footers and actively discouraged from people's houses – again no longer the case.
The first-footer still brings gifts. Whisky, food and a lump of coal are the main trio of traditions that come with the first-footer – a sign of how little has really changed from times past. (The medieval clergy gave food to the parish poor, which in itself was reminiscent of pagan food offerings.)
Perhaps the thing that heralds Hogmanay and New Year around the world is the singing of Auld Lang Syne, the Robert Burns song that so epitomises the spirit of the season. It is at that time that Scots tend towards the sentimental, thinking of folks no longer there or far away.
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have become renowned for their celebration of Hogmanay. The parties attract visitors from across the world, who gather together to celebrate with music, singing, fireworks, dancing and friendship.
In Scotland, Hogmanay is a time to gather together with friends and family and consider the past year. It is a time of hope, a looking forward to a better year and a time when people resolve to improve their lives and the lives of others.
heritage.scotsman.com/traditions.cfm?id=2454442005&format=send
considering it was non-alcoholic no mean feat was that.