OT-Ancient Scottish Rite

[dave hall]

According to my father Christmas wasn't even a full public holiday until the
60's.
Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: Stephe <lindas1 at ADELPHIA.NET>
To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>
Date: 15 December 2003 16:48
Subject: OT-Ancient Scottish Rite


Scots Mark New Year With Fiery Ancient Rites

Lara Suziedelis Bogle
for National Geographic News
December 31, 2002

Greeting the new year with friends and spirits is customary in many
parts of the world. Residents of Scotland mark the arrival of the
new year with particular passion in a holiday they call Hogmanay
that draws on their history of Viking invasions, superstition, and
ancient pagan rituals.
Hogmanay's origins date back to pagan rituals that marked the time
of the winter solstice. Roman celebrations of the hedonistic winter
festival of Saturnalia and Viking celebrations of Yule (the origin
of the twelve days of Christmas) contributed to celebrations in
Scotland around the new year. These celebrations and other
ceremonies evolved over the centuries to become the Hogmanay holiday
celebrated in Scotland today.

For many centuries in Scotland, Hogmanay was a far more important
holiday than Christmas. Historians suggest this may have been a
result of the Protestant Reformation after which Christmas, and its
close ties to the Roman Catholic Church, was seen as "too Papist."
Others point to the grueling work schedules of laborers during the
Industrial Revolution which did not provide time off for the
Christmas holiday.

A costumed reveler watches the burning of a Viking long ship during
the Up Helly Aa festival in Scotland's Shetland Islands. The
festival is one of many customs practiced in Scotland to mark the
new year.

Only in the mid-20th century did Christmas emerge as the popular
holiday it is in other Christian countries. But don't be fooled—New
Year's still reigns supreme. In the last several years, two of
Scotland's cities have hosted some of the largest street parties in
the world.

Hogmanay—Then and Now

Today, Edinburgh and Glasgow are renowned for large outdoor street
celebrations similar to New York City's New Year's Eve celebration
in Times Square. Despite cold weather, the festivities draw large
crowds and are marked by drinking and carousing into the wee hours
of the morning. Thanks to marketing efforts, attendance has grown so
overwhelming in recent years that tickets are now required to
control crowds.

Some of the country's more interesting Hogmanay traditions are found
in private homes and in the Scottish Highlands and islands. A number
extend well into the new year.

A custom known as "first footing" dictates that the first person to
cross a home's threshold after midnight on New Year's Eve will
determine the homeowner's luck for the new year. The ideal visitor
bears gifts—preferably whiskey, coal for the fire, small cakes, or a
coin—and should be a man with a dark complexion. Why? The answer
hearkens back to the 8th century, when the presumably fair-haired
Vikings invaded Scotland: a blond visitor was not a good omen.

Although less commonly practiced today, friends celebrate first
footing by visiting each other's homes shortly after midnight. They
share food and drink and exchange small gifts. It is also customary
to sing Auld Lang Syne, the traditional song famously transcribed by
Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Another custom is to clean the house thoroughly and burn juniper to
rid the house of evil spirits in the coming year.

Many Hogmanay traditions involve fire, another throwback to pagan
and Viking times. It is believed fire symbolized the sun's return
after the winter solstice or was used to ward off evil spirits.

Locals in the small town of Biggar in southern Scotland have built a
bonfire every Hogmanay for hundreds of years, despite the complaints
of some residents.

In Stonehaven, a town on Scotland's east coast, the Ancient
Fireballs Ceremony unfolds as sixty locals march through the town
swinging large flaming spheres over their heads.

Even more extreme is the ritual known as Up Helly Aa, which is
carried out in towns in the Shetland Islands on the last Tuesday in
January. A custom dating only back to the early 1800s, Up Helly Aa
involves entire towns dressing up as Vikings and ceremonially
burning a replica of a Viking ship—followed by raucous celebrating.

No one can say for sure which traditions came from exactly where
exactly when, only that thousands of years of history have blended
to create the cultural centerpiece of the Scottish holiday season.

Hogma-what?

Even the origin of the word Hogmanay is a subject of debate. A few
possibilities: It may derive from the Gaelic oge maiden meaning "new
morning"; the Celtic hogunnus meaning "new year"; hoog min dag, a
Flemish-Dutch phrase meaning "great love day"; or the Old French
word aguillanneuf, which refers to both the last day of the year and
the gift traditionally given on that day. The last possibility seems
especially likely since one of the old Scottish traditions was for
children to run from door to door on New Year's Eve asking for
presents and shouting, Hogmanay!

Whatever its origins, Hogmanay is an integral part of Scottish
culture today. Apparently, one day to recover isn't enough: January
2nd is an official holiday in Scotland, too.