Bringing in the New Year, or Hogmanay, is a big deal in Scotland. The word Hogmanay is thought to have first been used widely following Mary Queen of Scots' return to Scotland from France in 1561, and may come from the French word 'hoginane', meaning gala day. But the origins of the Hogmanay celebration reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Vikings with wild parties in late December.
Today, a typical Hogmanay celebration is likely to include good food, traditional music and a ceilidh, and of course a dram or two of fine Scotch whisky!
Another tradition linked into Hogmanay and bringing in the New Year is the superstition around your first-foot. In Scottish folklore, the first-foot is the first person to enter your home on New Year's Day, and is seen as a bringer of good fortune for the coming year.
So how does it work? Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-foot to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at the stroke of midnight in order to be the first-foot. The first-foot should be a tall, dark-haired male; a female or fair-haired male are in some places regarded as unlucky.
The first-foot usually brings several gifts with them, including a silver coin, bread, salt, coal, evergreen, and whisky, which represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, long-life, and good cheer respectively. Other gifts are perfectly acceptable, and probably more desirable!
A scented candle could represent warmth and prosperity, and we have the perfect gift solutions! Our Highland range celebrates this wonderful time of year with two fragrances. Our aptly named Hogmanay fragrance range presents festive spices, juniper berry and white heather. Our Hogmanay fragrance is presented either in a luxurious three wick candle with smoked black glass and a beautiful tartan gift box, a 30cl glass jar candle in gift box, or a token large scented tin candle.
For the whisky lovers, you could opt for our Uisge Beatha fragrance which presents a sweet, honeyed whisky scent with notes of white heather. Uisge Beatha is available as a glass jar candle in gift box, and a scented tin candle.
However you decide to celebrate Hogmanay this year, we hope you have an amazing night and wish you health and prosperity for 2019!
