The first person to cross your threshold after "The Bells" (midnight) on January 1st is called the First Footer. The most desired First Footer thought to bring the best luck is a tall, dark, handsome man (such as yours truly) weighing about 15 stone (200 or so lb.). Fair-haired, blue-eyed men (and women) are not considered a lucky portent, as it seems that memory of Viking invasions made its way into customs and folklore. (Sorry cuz. *g*)

The First Footer parties come bearing gifts such as uisge beatha (whiskey/water of life), or good luck tokens symbolic of warm wishes and prosperity, such as a small lump of coal which would immediately be placed on the fire ~ it's cold and dark in Scotland at this time of year! ~ salt, a coin, or food (bannocks, oatcakes, black buns (fruit buns), plum pudding or shortbread).

For all you Scots living in the east coast fishing communities, the First Footers would carry a decorated herring from door to door as a symbol of prosperity.

A ver sweet custom (and very worthy, IMHO) practiced by the bakers in St. Andrews was to bake special cakes for Hogmanay (known as Cake Day) and give them away free to local children.

Fire processions are extremely popular at Hogmanay. The men of Falkland in Fife formed a torchlight procession and wound their way through the town to the top of the Lomond Hills as midnight approached.

The men of Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen, still practice the fire procession. As the bells ring in the New Year, fireballs are lit and swung around on wires. This spectacular procession makes its way through the streets toward the harbour, where the fireballs are thrown in a great arc into the water for dousing. A similar fire custom still survives at Comrie in Perthshire on the edge of the Highlands, where a torchlit procession carries flambeaux round town.

The Burning of the Clavie is still celebrated at Burghead, north of Aberdeen on the Moray Firth coast, though it takes place on January 11 rather than December 31st, in accordance with the old Julian calendar (replaced in 1600 in Scotland). The clavie is a half-barrel mounted on a pole and filled with combustible material. The clavie is lit and carried round the streets of Burghead and eventually taken to the Doorie Hill, a high point in the town, where more fuel is piled on. The dying embers are much sought after as good luck charms for the coming year.