{"id":2948,"date":"2025-12-31T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T10:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?p=2948"},"modified":"2025-12-31T10:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T10:02:09","slug":"scottish-new-year-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2025\/12\/31\/scottish-new-year-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottish New Year Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scottish New Year Traditions<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

An old Scottish New Year tradition was First Footing \u2013 all you had to do was grab a lump of coal and a bottle of whisky and visit your neighbour to \u201csee in\u201d the New Year. This tradition is thought to date back to the Viking times and is quite quaint and sedate, but in modern times some of our New Year traditions have become a little bit crazy\u2026..<\/p>\n

Stonehaven Fireballs<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

This spectacular display takes place in the town of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. Roughly 40 people take part and at the stroke of midnight, the fireballs are lit and are whirled around by those brave enough to take part in the procession along the High Street. The balls are made from wood and fabric soaked in paraffin and then enclosed in wire mesh. The procession takes around half an hour and the balls are hurled into the sea at the end. The origins of the tradition are unclear, but it has now become a popular tourist attraction. If you can\u2019t attend the procession, there has been a webcam allowing remote viewing in the past which will hopefully be running again this year and the link is here.<\/a> You can check out previous processions online by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ba\u2019, Kirkwall, Orkney<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The game begins at 1pm on New Year\u2019s Day when the Ba\u2019 is thrown up from the Mercat Cross outside St. Magnus Cathedral.<\/a> Two teams, Uppies and Doonies try to get the Ba\u2019- a leather ball filled with cork handmade by local craftsmen- to their respective home goals. For Uppies it\u2019s at the far end of the main street opposite the catholic church, and for Doonies it\u2019s Kirkwall Harbour. If the Ba\u2019 \u201cgaas doon\u201d then the players are expected to jump into the harbour. It\u2019s a contest of scrums, pushing, shoving, fast sprints and sneaky smuggles. Where your allegiance lies used to depend on where you were born with Uppies being born south of the cathedral and Doonies born north of it. Now with many women being sent to Aberdeen to give birth, most men play on the side their father or grandfather played on. The game mostly takes place on the town\u2019s main streets with businesses and homes boarding up their properties to prevent damage.<\/p>\n

Rules of The Game<\/span><\/h4>\n

There are no rules, and a game can last for many hours with little movement of the scrum. Only when a team member manages to get the Ba\u2019 to the outer players can a fast break or smuggle (up a player\u2019s jumper) take place. It is then chaotic with those in possession of the Ba\u2019 trying to get as close as possible to their goal whilst throwing the opposition off the trail by using the winding lanes in Kirkwall\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

Once the winning team has reached their goal, the Ba\u2019 is presented to a member of the team-usually someone who has participated for many years. It\u2019s a lot easier to watch than take part in-click here<\/a> to watch the Ba\u2019 from a previous year.<\/p>\n

The Loony Dook, South Queensferry<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Held on New Year\u2019s Day, The Loony Dook is a charity event requiring the participants to dip into the freezing cold waters of the Firth of Forth. The name comes from two Scots words, loony (a crazy person) and dook (to bathe or take a dip).<\/p>\n

The first Loony Dook took place in 1986 when some friends suggested it would be a good hangover cure. The following year it became a charity event with proceeds going to local charities such as RNLI Queensferry. Over the years the event grew to include a fancy dress parade and became so large it had to become an organized event. Each year thousands of onlookers come to watch participants who are greeted by pipers and offered hot porridge before taking the plunge.<\/p>\n

The event has caught on in other Scottish seaside towns along the Firth such as North Berwick, Kirkcaldy and St. Andrews so if you can\u2019t make it to South Queensferry, then you may be able to catch the action at a different venue. If you prefer to stay warm and dry at New Year then click here<\/a> to view a previous Loony Dook from the comfort of your home!<\/p>\n

By Vivienne Hamilton<\/p>\n

Find amazing resources on Scotland in LibrarySearch.napier.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more about Scottish Traditions with this post on Burns Night<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scottish New Year Traditions An old Scottish New Year tradition was First Footing \u2013 all you had to do was grab a lump of coal and a bottle of whisky and visit your neighbour to \u201csee in\u201d the New Year. This tradition is thought to date back to the Viking times and is quite quaint […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":2949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[255],"tags":[10,237,79,277,579,256,577,578],"class_list":["post-2948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-year","tag-edinburgh","tag-fun","tag-history","tag-hogmanay","tag-loony-dook","tag-new-year","tag-scottish-new-year-traditions","tag-tradition","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"\nScottish New Year Traditions - The Library Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Informative and fun article on Scottish New Year Traditions. 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Burns Night is typically held on or around January 25th, the poet's birthday. 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A Scottish tradition of gala weeks in full swing. It\u2019s a time for towns to get together and celebrate their history and culture. There will be sports days, horse-riding, fancy-dress. 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It is held on 25th January, Burns\u2019s birthday, when Burns suppers are held. They consist of a meal, poetry recitals and songs. 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