Scottish Highland Christmas Traditions and Holiday food.

[Jock Scot]

If it helps to set the scene, so to speak, with what I have already desribed I cannot remember any one of my relatives ----Grand parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, mother and father-----being remotely religious. They went to funerals and weddings at churches as and when, but other than that I really cannot say which "team" they might have batted for, but I suspect there was a vague Protestant vein running through the family somewhere, particularly if one considers the schools that they went to. Did that influence what happened at Christmas with the way it was organised I really don't know, it was what it was I suppose and I see no reason to change it.

[neloon]

Collin,
Your paper is most interesting and I'm going to re-read it at leisure in the morning. In the meantime, could I just say that "Scottish" and "Celtic" are adjectives, not nouns so citizens of Scotland are "Scots" and, for some, their ancestors may have been "Celts".
Alan

[The Q]

I've just read your paper, very interesting,
The going from house to house at New Year is still done to a greater or lesser extent, mostly lesser.
this bit I've copied from elsewhere to save me typing.

"First footing" (that is, the "first foot" in the house after midnight) is not as common as it used to be in Scotland. To ensure good luck for the house, the first foot should be male, dark (believed to be a throwback to the Viking days when blond strangers arriving on your doorstep meant trouble) and should bring symbolic coal, shortbread, salt, black bun and whisky. These days, however, whisky and perhaps shortbread are the only items still prevalent (and available).

[cessna152towser]

I live in the south of Scotland near the English Border. How individuals celebrate Christmas depends very much on their individual background, and while some of the more devout members of the population only mark the religious side of Christmas, I have to admit to enjoying the fun side too.
Christmas season NEVER begins before Remembrance Sunday which is always the Sunday nearest to 11th November (other than in the shops which start bombarding us with Christmas offerings from early October). By second half of November, household Christmas trees begin to appear, a few initially, and many more will appear once we are into December.
We go through the advent candle sequence, one candle at Sunday lunch on First Sunday in Advent, through to four candles on the Fourth Sunday in Advent.
For our Christmas shopping day (buying gifts etc) we ride the bus over the border into England for a Saturday out in the nearest city, Carlisle, where there is a Christmas Market with always a stall dispensing gluewein (hot mulled wine) and bratwurst (sausages), a German tradition which has spread throughout Europe in more recent years.
Some years we attend a Watchnight Service in church on Christmas Eve.
As a child I had a Christmas stocking which was always hung up on Christmas Eve and found to be filled with small presents (stocking fillers) on Christmas morning. I still have my Christmas stocking and fill it up with a few small surprises for my wife each Christmas.
We went out for a Christmas meal with some of my ex work colleagues yesterday evening and will have a special Christmas meal with a relative next Wednesday.
Christmas Day will just be our two selves at home, though my wife will cook something special, probably Duck.
Traditionally we keep the Christmas tree and its lights up until a day or two into the New Year. An old custom has it that it brings bad luck if you don't take your Christmas tree down by twelfth night (the evening of fifth January.) This household is probably the exception around here as my wife is German and the Twelfth Day of Christmas (6th January) is a German national holiday and traditionally the last day of displaying the Christmas tree with its lights lit, so our tree gets packed away on 7th January, and that's Christmas all over for another year.

[Jock Scot]

If I may Collin, can I try and explain the term "British" as I notice that in two of your posts you have used the term in rather a strange way.

British is used as a term for any person from the UK. So a Welsh person is also British, a person from Northern Ireland is also British, an English person is also British and yes, a person from Scotland is also British. It is a term that many outwith the UK struggle with.

Hope this helps.

[Jock Scot]

Post deleted, dual post. Sorry.

[neloon]

Collin,
As I said your summary is most interesting. I am a little doubtful about some of the Gaelic transcriptions e.g. I can make no sense of "Mac an toiche". This link, from Glendale - not far from Antigonish - suggests "Mac an Toisich" (Mackintosh) = "son of the chief" i.e. "chiefly".
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/customs1.htm
Some of the Gaelic spelling in that link is also idiosyncratic.

"Duan Challain" is actually a Christmas carol/lullaby - not about New Year.
http://carmichaelwatson.blogspot.co....mas-carol.html

I'm surprised that New Year was not celebrated twice - again on the 12th January - the old Highlanders never quite accepted the Gregorian calendar so, to make sure, two celebrations were held (sometimes still are!)

Alan

[CollinMacD]

Collin,
As I said your summary is most interesting. I am a little doubtful about some of the Gaelic transcriptions e.g. I can make no sense of "Mac an toiche". This link, from Glendale - not far from Antigonish - suggests "Mac an Toisich" (Mackintosh) = "son of the chief" i.e. "chiefly".
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/customs1.htm
Some of the Gaelic spelling in that link is also idiosyncratic.

"Duan Challain" is actually a Christmas carol/lullaby - not about New Year.
http://carmichaelwatson.blogspot.co....mas-carol.html

I'm surprised that New Year was not celebrated twice - again on the 12th January - the old Highlanders never quite accepted the Gregorian calendar so, to make sure, two celebrations were held (sometimes still are!)

Alan

Alan,

Appreciate your input so much. All the Gaelic translations that I stated was taken directly from the "History of Antigonish County" by Reverend Randell, published in 1929. Regarding the 12th Jan New Years celebration, I know they did not celebrate that, as they celebrated the Epiphany, (often referred to as the "Little Christmas", this is when the three wise men visited the Christ Child). Remember these are Catholics, of which New Years Eve seemed like the biggest of the holiday celebrations. New Years Day is a Holy Day of Obligation, Jesus' Circumcision.