'It's the season to be cheerful! If you're celebrating Christmas or Hogmanay in Scotland this year, there are many seasonal Scottish traditions to participate in, some old and some new.
History of Christmas in Scotland
Neolithic solstice
Celtic Pagans held celebrations around the winter solstice (usually around December 21 or 22) to mark the shortest day of the year. The celebrations were held in part to lighten the dark winter days and to appease the gods so that the sun could return.
Viking Yule
Vikings first raided Scotland in the late 700s AD, and they stayed from the 8th to the 15th century. The Vikings brought their own way of celebrating the winter solstice, known as Jól. This old Norse term has its origins in the time of 'Yule,' the pagan festivities that took place across what is now known as Christmastime, as well as being translated from Norse poetry as a word for 'feast,' which is highly appropriate given that a mid-winter feast was an important part of Viking celebrations.
Why Christmas was banned in Scotland?
Many people are unaware that Christmas was prohibited in Scotland for nearly 400 years. However, let us return to a time when our fair land was inhabited by druids and pagans.
Pagans observed the winter solstice by bringing greenery into their homes as a symbol of life during the long winter nights. Mistletoe, which was revered for its fertility properties, was cut and hung - and since it still compels us to kiss beneath it, we assume its fertility prowess works! The pagans also brought light into the homes by burning a Yule log and using the charred remains to protect the house throughout the year. Putting candles in the window to welcome a stranger has been a long-held Scottish Christmas tradition since then. You honor the Holy Family, who sought shelter the night of Christ's birth, by honoring the visit of a stranger in the night. Many Scots still burn a twig of the rowan tree at Christmas to dispel feelings of jealousy or mistrust between family members, friends, or neighbors.
Similarly, the Celts referred to Christmas as Nollaig Beag, or Little Christmas, and they burned the Cailleach, a log carved with the face of an old woman, also known as the Hag of Winter, who brought long nights and cold. The log was supposed to burn away the cold and darkness, as well as any lingering bad luck. As it stands, perhaps more luck was required, because in the mid-16th century, Cromwell's Reformation branded Christmas as a Catholic celebration, making it illegal to celebrate. When Cromwell was defeated, the Scottish Presbyterian Church, led by its own Grinch, John Knox, cancelled the festive season, prohibiting any Christmas holiday celebrations.
That is, until the Victorian era saw a revival in festive celebrations, when Prince Albert brought many rituals from Germany that formed the Christmas we know today. Christmas and Boxing Day became recognized holidays for the Scottish people in the late 1950s, a now-muddled mix of Celtic, pagan, and European traditions.
Christmas in Scotland today
In addition to Christmas Day becoming a public holiday in Scotland in 1958, Boxing Day and New Year's Day followed suit a decade later in 1974.
Many of the families who lived in our properties, from the Hebrides to New Town in Edinburgh, loved to celebrate Christmas.
Scottish Christmas traditions
Working on Christmas Day is a thing of the past for many Scots, but there are other old customs that remain. Some people, for example, bake unleavened Yule bread for each member of their family. Whoever finds a trinket in their loaf will be lucky for the rest of the year!
Other traditions include the 'first-footer,' a special name given to the first person to arrive on Christmas Day (this tradition is now more commonly associated with New Year's Day), and burning a rowan twig to get rid of any bad feelings between friends or family. To bless their visitors, first-timers bring coal, whisky, salt, and bread. Black buns, which are made with raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, allspice, ginger, and cinnamon and topped with pastry, are also a popular first-footing gift.
Christmas traditions in Scotland today are similar to those in other Western countries. People sing carols and decorate their homes with lights, placing a Christmas tree in the window and a wreath on the door. Children write letters to Santa Claus and leave something for him to eat (like a mince pie) and drink (like sherry or whisky) when he visits in the night on Christmas Eve.
Some families like to attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day, people exchange gifts before gathering around the table for a hearty lunch. Pulling crackers, telling (bad) jokes, making toasts, and then relaxing for the rest of the day, often in front of the television to watch the annual Queen's speech or a festive film, is the norm.
Hogmanay in Scotland
In Scotland, New Year's Eve is known as Hogmanay. This joyful gathering was especially celebrated during the years when Christmas was 'banned,' with celebrations lasting days! Edinburgh now hosts one of the world's largest and most well-known Hogmanay street parties, complete with a spectacular fireworks display. Scottish people light up the dark winter with music, poetry, and bonfires across the country.
There are plenty of Scottish Hogmanay traditions, some dating back centuries and some only a few decades old. The singing of 'Auld Lang Syne,' written by the iconic Scottish poet Robert Burns, is undoubtedly the most famous, with people gathering together and linking arms to sing in unison. By the mid-twentieth century, this had become a common practice. Other writers, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, have written poems and songs to commemorate Hogmanay and the passing of the year, but nothing compares to Burns' classic song.
Scotland also has some strange and wonderful Hogmanay celebrations. The Stonehaven Fireballs Festival has its origins in pagan traditions; for nearly a century, residents of this Aberdeenshire town have paraded through the streets on Hogmanay, swinging giant fireballs to ward off evil spirits and purge the old year.
On New Year's Day in Orkney, you'll have to fight for a view of the Kirkwall Ba', which turns almost the entire town into a football pitch for a chaotic and competitive kickabout! The 'burning of the clavie' in Burghead, Moray, involves carrying a flaming tar-filled barrel through the streets on 11 January (the Gaelic New Year's Eve before the Gregorian calendar was adopted).
On Hogmanay, some Scots like to encourage good luck in the new year by'redding' and cleaning their house from top to bottom (a good one for getting the kids involved). Cleaning or doing laundry on New Year's Day is also considered bad luck, as you may sweep or wash away the good luck! Instead of cleaning, the more hardy among us may partake in the Loony Dook, a modern tradition in which people swim in the Firth of Forth on New Year's Day.
And lastly...
How would you say "Merry Christmas" in Gaelic in Scotland?
Nollaig Chridheil!
By: ScotsTee
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