When you’re ringing in the new year, there’s no better place to be than Scotland, where Hogmanay often threatens to outshine Christmas. If you can’t make it out to Edinburgh or Aberdeen on such short notice, try some of these fun Hogmanay traditions at home!

Fireball Swinging

Perhaps the most spectacular Hogmanay tradition is the fireball swinging in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. Locals create large balls of flammable materials and swing them over their heads while parading down the High Street towards the harbour, ultimately throwing the still-flaming balls into the ocean. Thousands will gather for the spectacle, as well as for bagpipe performances and other entertainment throughout the evening. However, you may want to consider the flammability of your house and neighbourhood before attempting any fireball swinging of your own.

Raise a Ruckus

Hogmanay celebrators aren’t just noisy because it’s fun—it’s also to drive away bad luck, bad spirits, and bad omens that might be lurking around the corner to spoil your new year. In Aberdeenshire, sailors will sound their ships’ horns during New Year’s Eve for this purpose. At the stroke of midnight, bells in every church and town hall ring out to greet the New Year.

First-Footing & Shortbread

After the bells at midnight, you can rush off to be the first guest of the New Year, also known as “first-footing”. Make sure you don’t come empty handed, as that’s considered very unlucky. The best gifts include traditional black buns, salt, coal, and of course shortbread! Tall, dark men are considered the luckiest first-footers.

Auld Lang Syne

It should come as no surprise that the famous Robbie Burns poem is a Hogmanay mainstay. Link arms with your loved ones as you sing:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

For the full lyrics, click here! They also provide a translation here in case you aren’t sure what a “gude old willie-waught” is in the fourth verse.

Cleaning & “Saining”

Many people like to usher in the new year with a clean house. You can take this a step further by performing a traditional Scottish “saining” or protective blessing on New Years’ Day. Start by sprinkling water from a “dead and living ford” (traditionally, a river crossing that both the dead and living use) in all the rooms and on all the inhabitants. Then, all the windows and doors are closed and a juniper branch is burned, wafting smoke throughout the house. Finally, the doors and windows are thrown open to the cold winter air, refreshing the house for another year. Be sure to enjoy a “restorative” dram of whiskey before settling down to your New Year’s breakfast.

Take a Couple Days Off

Since the Scottish have the most fun during New Year’s Eve, it makes sense that they may need a couple of days to recover. That’s why Scotland has a second bank holiday after New Year’s Day, so they get both January 1st and 2nd off from work! We’re lucky to have January 1st fall on a Friday this year, so most of us will be able to observe the traditional Scottish recovery period following a rambunctious New Year’s celebration.

From all of us at Rose’s Shortbread, we wish you all a safe and joyous Hogmanay, and a prosperous new year!