Happy New Year! The custom of first footing

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First footing observed in Scotland

Well, 2023 is nearly over, and it's nearly time to welcome in 2024. To mark the occasion, I'm going to talk about a custom I grew up with: first footing.

The tradition of the first foot is common in Scotland, and is also known close to the border in northern England. My family observed the tradition thanks to my mam, whose family in Cumbria (north west England) celebrated New Year in a big way.

The idea is that to ensure good luck for the upcoming year, the first person to step over the threshold of your house after midnight strikes on New Year's Eve should be a tall, dark-haired man. At 6' 4" my dad fitted this criteria perfectly. Even today, now his hair is white, we still send him outside just before midnight so he can step back in afterwards!

As a child, I never really questioned this tradition, but researching it as an adult it is suggested that the man needing to be dark-haired is a throwback to the days of Viking invasion, when a blond man turning up at your front door on New Year's Eve (or any other time) was not likely to lead to luck! Apparently, the first foot should also bring symbolic gifts to represent wishes for the year ahead. Examples include a piece of coal (a warm hearth), bread and salt (to ensure plenty of food), whisky (for good cheer) and a coin (for prosperity). This wasn't actually something that we did - maybe that's why we never seemed to have amazing luck!

The custom is also known in the Isle of Man, but not well known elsewhere in the United Kingdom. I was surprised, when I moved to the south of England, that no one seemed to have heard of it!

Interestingly, the custom bears resemblance to Samhain customs celebrated around what is now Halloween, but which marks the Celtic New Year. A similar New Year custom can also be found in Serbian folklore, and another can be found in Sweden, although there a fair-haired man is preferred, which is understandable!

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