HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-12-21, Page 31THE CITIZEN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1990. PAGE 31.
Scottish Yuletide customs brighten our holidays
Fittingly, the most traditional of
all New Year’s tunes, Robbie
Burns’ immortal anthem, hails
from Scotland, the land where
seeing the Old Year out and
welcoming the New Year in has
been serious business for hundreds
of years.
But, while virtually every person
in the English-speaking world has
undoubtedly hummed a bar of
Robbie Burns’ New Year’ melody
on at least one occasion, very few
people know of the many and
varied New Year’s customs that
have originated in his homeland.
Some of these have their origins
in folk traditions; still others date
from the Reformation, when the
devout Scots, taking a clerical
rebuke to heart, chose to observe
Christmas Eve and Day with all due
solemnity, transferring the merri
ment to the less sacred occasion of
New Year’s Eve and Day (so much
so that many Scots refer to them as
“Daft Days’’).
Known as Hogmanay, New
Year’s Even was treated in Scot
land as an important opportunity
for making sure that fortune smiled
on you in the year to come.
Good luck was ensured in a
variety of ways. In many communi
ties, it was customary to light
bonfires to burn the Old Year out
prior to the beginning of the New
Year. In some coastal towns, an old
fishing boat was set on fire; its
embers were considered to bring
good luck, causing those present at
the ceremony to complete for them.
Children had an important role to
play in the Hogmanay festivities.
Throughout Scotland, groups of
local youngsters would wrap them
selves up together in a large sheet,
then parade through town, crying
out a traditional rhyme: “Get up,
goodwife, and shake your feathers,
/And dinna think that we are
.beggars; /For we are bairns come
out to play, /Get up and gie’s our
hogmanay.’’ For their efforts, they
would be given cheese or oaten
cakes, also called hogmanay.
On New Year’s Day, in some
places, the boys would hit the
streets again, asking at each house
for food or money, by singing the
following songs: 1 wish you a Merry
Christmas /And a Happy New
Year, /A pocketful of money /And
a cellar full of beer, / And a good fat
pig /To serve you all the year.
/Ladies and gentlemen /Sitting by
the fire, /Pity us poor boys /Out in
the mire.”
Truly, New Year’s Eve was a
bustling occasion in most Scottish
households, as everyone in the
home strove to complete the old
Year’s business before midnight,
returning all borrowed objects,
paying all debts, winding clocks,
sweeping out all the old dust, and
so on. In addition, the household
ers would search for stray dogs on
Scottish treat
A Descendant of the Oaten Bannockthat was an intrinsic part of
pagan Yuletide celebrations, Scottish shortbread is the
traditional New Year’s and Christmas treat. Its circular form,
as seen above in Christopher Baker’s photo from Martha
Stewart’s Christmas (Clarkson N. Potter), is meant to mirror
that of the sun.
and the windows would be opened
to facilitate their departure; later,
all possible points of entry would
be shut tight, to prevent their
return.
There are several traditional
Hogmanay delicacies. The bever
age of choice is het pint, a blend of
warm ale and whiskey that’s been
flavoured with nutmeg. This “cup
of kindness” would wash down
quantities of homemade cheese
and home-baked delicacies, such as
black bun, ankersocks and short
bread.
Black bun, a spiced cake studded
with dried fruits and nuts, and
laced with brandy, was perhaps the
richest of the offerings; the oddly
named ankersocks were loaves of
rye gingerbread.
Shortbread, a buttery cookie
traditionally baked in a circular
form with ridged edges, is the
descendant of the oat bannock that
was intrinsic to pagan Yule rites,
and whose shape was meant to
mirror the sun and its rays.
The following recipe for Scotch
Shortbread is reproduced from
Martha Stewart’s Christmas
(Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.), a per
sonal celebration of the season with
Stewart’s own inventive recipes,
plus instructions for creating strik
ing homemade decorations, orna
ments and gift wrap.
SCOTCH SHORTBREAD
Makes 1 giant cookie
1 cup [2 sticks] unsalted butter
1/4 pound sugar
1 pound sifted all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
butter an 8-inch round baking tin
and line bottom with parchment
paper.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add
the flour and mix well; the mixture
will be very crumbly.
Pack the mixture into the tin,
smoothing the top with a rubber
scraper. Mark the top with a
decorative pattern (we used a
butter knife and the tines of a fork).
Bake for about 25 minutes; do
not allow to brown. Cool 10 minutes
in tin, then turn onto rack.
Remember that it’s considered
back luck to cut the shortbread with
a knife. Break it for serving and
have a happy Hogmanay!
®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®<
EVANS HARDWARE
ETHEL, ONT.
WILL BE OFFICIALLY CLOSING ON
DECEMBER 31, 1990
property and evict them, as
were believed to bring bad
be
on
an
their
they
luck.
Similarly, it was believed to
lucky to wear a new garment
New Year’s Day, and it was
especially good omen if its pockets
were filled with money, as this
could indicate a prosperous year to
come.
However, the most prevalent of
Hogmanay customs was certainly
first footing, for it was believed
that the first person who walked
through the door of a house after
the New Year began would have a»
major effect on the fortunes of its
occupants.
In Scotland, it was considered
lucky for the first-footer to be a
red-headed male. He would carry
with him some sort of offering,
traditionally a piece of wood for the
fire in one hand (household fires on
Hogmanay were as carefully tend
ed as the communal bonfires) and a
stalk of mistletoe in the other (it
was his privilege to kiss all the
women of the household beneath
his branch of mistletoe). After
wishing the family a Happy New
Year, he was thanked for his efforts
with a glass of whiskey and a slice
of cake.
It was considered unlucky for the
first-footer to be dark or blond-hair
ed, or to carry a knife or other
sharp object. A female first-footer
was the unluckiest of all.
In fact, this tradition was taken
.so seriously that many families
would make arrangements for the
proper first-footer to be waiting on
their doorstep as the church bell
tolled the beginning of the New
Year.
In addition, as the New Year
arrived, a great clamor would
begin, as everyone in the house
hold rang bells and clanged pots to
frighten any lurking evil spirits
from the premises. The front door
To all of our many customers we
say thank you. Your faithful
patronage over the past 20 years
was appreciated by us all.
WISHING YOU A
BLESSED
CHRISTMAS
& PROSPEROUS
1991
Doug & Jean
Evans & Familv
1®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®^As
we
celebrate
the gladness and the glory
of this holy season, we'd like
to express our deepest feelings
of friendship and goodwill
to all of you..
FUNERAL HOMES LTD.
BEATTIE
CHAPEL
R. David Beattie
Lloyd E. Tasker
TASKER BALL
CHAPEL CHAPEL
Michael S. Falconer