Something my Grandma used to arrange every new year was the first-foot. Anyone else remember doing this, or even plan to do it tomorrow night? In Scottish and Northern English folklore, the first-foot, also known in Manx Gaelic as quaaltagh or qualtagh, is the first person to enter the household of a home on New Years Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year.[1][2] Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at the stroke of midnight in order to first-foot (thus going out of the house after midnight and then coming back in to the same house is not considered to be first-footing). It is said to be desirable for the first-foot to be a tall, dark-haired male; a female or fair-haired male are in some places regarded as unlucky. In Worcestershire, luck is ensured by stopping the first carol singer who appears and leading him through the house.[citation needed] In Yorkshire it must always be a male who enters the house first, but his fairness is no objection. The first-foot usually brings several gifts, including perhaps a coin (silver is considered good luck), bread, salt, coal, or a drink (usually whisky), which represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer respectively .[2] In Scotland, first-footing has traditionally been more elaborate than in England,[citation needed] and involving subsequent entertainment.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 21:29:04 +0000
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