Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy Hogmanay!


If you are Scottish you will know what I am talking about.  If not, then let me explain: Hogmanay is what us Scots call New Years Eve.  It is arguably the biggest party night of the year.  In fact, we tend to party so hard, that we have two days to recover.  That’s right:  January 1st and 2nd are Scottish bank holidays.  My Hogmanay celebrations have tended to vary from awesome to utterly disappointing over the past decade depending on where I was celebrating the New Year.  My first US New Years experience was such a letdown.  But before I get into that, I should explain what it is that makes a Scottish New Years Eve the event of the year.

We have odd traditions…
It is not enough that we like to party into the wee hours of the morning.  There are some set customs that are typically followed.  For example, steak pie is usually served a little before midnight (or “the bells” as it is also known).   People eat, mingle, bleather, drink copious amounts of alcohol and generally have a good time.  Usually the TV is playing on the background with dedicated Hogmanay TV shows.  (Rikki Fulton’s the Reverend I.M.  Jolly is hands down my favorite!  I was lucky enough to be in the studio to see him film this segment one year.  RIP Rikki – you were a comedy genius).  Anyway, I digress.  As it approaches midnight some of the guests may be flung outside in the cold to ring in the New Year outside. Why do we do that you may ask?  Well, it’s a Scottish tradition known as “first-footing”:  it is good luck for the first person to cross your door to be tall, dark and handsome.  They are supposed to bring a gift to bring good luck suck as coal, shortbread or whiskey.  More often, they drunkenly stumble over the door shouting “Happy New Year!!” and hugging everyone in sight.  It is also customary to sing Auld Lange Syne.   This is a more widespread tradition is several countries now, but the song is originally based on a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns (who actually has his own day on January 25th known as Burns Night – note: this is the only day of the year that you will find Scottish people willingly eating haggis).  The Hogmanay festivities continue until the wee hours of the morning, and then people finally crash and sleep until noon.  

If you haven’t ever tried steak pie, it is beef and gravy incrusted in puff pastry and is typically served with mashed potatoes and veggies.  It is delicious!

Some alternative Hogmanay celebrations….
If you are not celebrating at a party in a friend’s house, then perhaps you are being hardy and braving the cold to celebrate the New Year in the city center.  In Glasgow, people crowd into George Square to listen to live music and watch the fireworks go off at midnight.  I did this one year, but it was so incredibly cold, that I’ve never been compelled to repeat this experience! 

Fortunately, being packed in like sardines helps to keep it a little bit warmer!

Another alternative Hogmanay celebration involves a good old fashioned céilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”).  This is a traditional Scottish dance set to Gaelic folk music.  There are several traditional dances.  There are couple dances, “set” dances (with four couples dancing together in a square formation) and progressive couple dances performed in a ring around the dance floor.  If you ever have the opportunity to attend a céilidh then you will have one of the most fun evenings of your life!  

How to people know how to do these dances?  Well, aside from the band giving the crowd a refresher on all of the dance moves, most Scottish people have been taught these dances at some stage in their life.  For example, during the wintertime, gym classes in Scottish high schools teach “Social Dance” AKA every teenager’s worst nightmare.  While I would love to have these lessons again now, at the time I hated social dance.  The boys would have to ask the girls to dance and vice versa each week throughout the winter months.  Being a socially awkward kinda geeky teen (this was a time prior to nerds being “cool”) I never got asked to dance by anyone that I actually wanted to dance with.  Instead I got the guys with two left feet, and the ones that smelt funny.  But anyway, now I have an appreciation of having a glimmer of memory of how to dance to the “Gay Gordons” or any of the other oddly named dances.  

Last Hogmanay I got to go to a céilidh with my parents and my Gran.  It was the most fun night of 2009 for me hands down.  I don’t think I sat down all night – I literally danced the night away!  Now THAT is how you are supposed to celebrate New Year’s Eve! 

Me and my Mum having a blast!  I forget the name of this dance, but it was so much fun!


An American New Years Eve by comparison…
As I noted earlier, my first US New Year’s Eve was a huge letdown.  Sitting up watching the ball drop on TV in NYC while sipping a cup of tea is not what I am accustomed to.  Even when I transplant family over here in the hopes of livening things up, it just isn’t the same.  I remember the year that my parents and brother came over for the holidays and we went to the festivities in downtown Burlington, Vermont.  “First Night” promised us fun, fireworks and more.  In reality it was colder than Siberia, boring as all could be, and a bitter disappointment.  As summed up by my little brother: “First Night?  Load of shite.”  

This Hogmanay I’m doing something a little different:  I’m heading to the OC Fairgrounds to see a variety of cover bands and a demolition derby!  Unfortunately, my jet-lag is seriously getting in the way of my Hogmanay plans.  At this rate I will be lucky to stay awake until midnight.  The prospect of sitting at home with a big mug of tea watching the glittery ball drop in New York is suddenly very appealing.  How very unpatriotic of me!  I’d better caffeine up and go celebrate the end of 2010 with a bang!  

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2011.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

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