Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions: First-Foot at New Year / Christmas : female-unlucky.
1821: T.D Fosbroke Ariconensia 58 – ‘On the first day of the year, it is deemed very unfortunate, for a woman to enter the house first; and therefore an inquiry is mostly made, whether a male has previously been there.’
1866: Henderson, Northern Counties. ‘Doors are there chained up to prevent females from entering.’
Having married into a Scottish/English family, there’s one particular superstition that I’m quite pleased isn’t traditionally adhered to by the in-laws on this day. In fact, it was one of the earliest superstitions I ever heard of – ‘first footing’. It was in a short story, where a young Scottish girl was sneered at, because she was forbidden to go out with her brothers on New Year’s Eve night.
One thing that does intrigue me about the tradition; the lack of consensus about its origins. Hogmany.net says:
Nobody knows for sure where the word “Hogmanay” came from. Opinions differ as to whether it originated from the Gaelic oge maidne (”New Morning”), Anglo-Saxon Haleg Monath (”Holy Month”), or Norman French word hoguinané, which was derived from the Old French anguillanneuf (”gift at New Year”). It’s also been suggested that it came from the French au gui mener (”lead to the mistletoe”) or a Flemish combo hoogmin (”love” or “affection”) and dag (”day”). Take your pick.
What does it involve? Well, as you might guess – it involves men equaling good luck. Men being the first to see in the New Year visiting – putting ‘first foot forward’ over your door. A man equals good luck – woman equals bad.
In fact, it should be a ‘tall dark stranger’, preferably. The New Scotsman with ‘A Guide To First Footing’:
To be a good first footer, you should:
• Be a man. Female first footers were historically regarded with dread.
• Be dark-haired. Fair-haired first footers were feared equally feared – light-complexioned callers in the night were not particularly welcome after the Viking invasions of ancient times.
• Be tall. This is not strictly necessary.
• Be fair (handsome). This probably began as a request from the female inhabitants and, again, exceptions can be made.
In addition, to first foot a household empty-handed is considered grossly discourteous (never mind unlucky) and could result in a heavy door in the face.
Traditionally, a first footer would bring a lump of coal (for warmth), salt (for wealth), a Black Bun (a rich fruit cake – for food) and a ‘hawf bottle’ (usually whisky, always alcoholic – for obvious reasons).
…For one night of the year we go out of our way to be generous and sociable, and once a year is better than never.
Huh. I should go around carrying my black cat to every house in the neighborhood and ask if they’d be willing to break with ‘tradition’ and risk a non-superstitious 2009. I’m certain my Scottish / English in-laws would be fine with it – they’re not really into sexism, despite their cultural background!
Why take my black cat? Because of another tradition this day, about meeting at your door:
1584: Scot Discoverie of Witchcraft. He that receiveth a mischance wil consider whether he met not a cat… wen he went first out of his doores in the morning.
Maybe I should dye my hair too…
1851: N&Q 1st ser. [Lancs]. A red-haired person is supposed to bring in ill-luck if he be the first to enter a house on New Year’s Day. Black-haired persons are rewarded with liquor and small gratitudes for ‘taking in the new year’ to the principal houses in their respective neighbourhoods.
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