Highland Yule Traditions

[davidlpope]

I thought I was avoiding Christmas specifically by saying Yule, which unless I have a serious misunderstanding was the name for the winter solstice celebrations? I guess I'll be googling Hogmany tonight.

As far as I understand it, Yule was never celebrated in Scotland.

[Jock Scot]

As I am from a family that does not bother too much about christmas and I am not too sure what traditions are generally upheld over christmas in Scotland, however the new year seems to be a far more important event to many. My family do have a get together sometime during the last few days of December though and we always lay a place at the table for absent friends.

[Pleater]

I forgot the decorating of the house with evergreens.

In the centre of the hall would be made a 'crown' of bendy wands, a hoop first, then two arches crossing in the middle attached to it and then lesser hoops above the first one with a rope tied to the top where the arches crossed, to hang it by once done.

The framework was decorated with holly and ivy and other evergreens and then hauled up into the roof.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Steve Ashton]

Folks,

Just a friendly word.

This and another thread have both been flagged for posting personal religious beliefs.

While it is the time of the year when many members do celebrate, and some of those celebrations are religious in nature, we kindly remind everyone that we have many members from around the world with many religious beliefs.

Religious beliefs are personal and this forum respects your right to your personal beliefs. All we ask is that you respect the rights of your fellow members in return and not put your personal beliefs into your posts.

This thread is about seasonal traditions in the Scottish Highlands.

[O'Callaghan]

I didn't realise that Christmas became a holiday as long ago as 1957 in Scotland, but that's probably right. It was Boxing Day (aka St Stephen's Day, i.e. the day after Xmas) that became a holiday in Scotland during times that I can recall. This happened at the same time as New Year's Day became a holiday in England. I know this was later than 1976, because I passed my motorcycle test on New Year's Day that year, as it was not yet an English holiday (and by extension Boxing Day had not yet become one in Scotland) which makes people do a double take.

New Year's Eve is celebrated in Scotland as Hogmanay, and many needed the next day off to recover, but it was not such a major thing in England, any more than Christmas and Boxing Day were in Scotland. In the North of England they have 'first footing' where people go from house to house on New Year's Eve and are given drinks, but no-one does this further South.

Boxing Day was always the biggest sale in England (the Canadians also have Boxing Day off, but they have Boxing Week sales that last all week). Incredibly, I'm told there are now Black Thursday sales in England, even though they still do not celebrate Thanksgiving (and most likely never will). Canada has Thanksgiving as well as Boxing Day, so the best of both worlds, but I don't think they do Thanksgiving on the same day? Americans wondering about turkey never fear, because the English do it on Xmas Day, but I'm not sure if Scots stuff themselves with turkey atall? I wonder if they have Black Thursday in Scotland?

[Father Bill]

Yeah, our Canadian Thankdgiving is in October because of its ties to the old Church Harvest services. My American friends will have to chime in here, but I think their date may be tied to Pilgrim history.

[KentuckyCeltophile]

Yeah, our Canadian Thankdgiving is in October because of its ties to the old Church Harvest services. My American friends will have to chime in here, but I think their date may be tied to Pilgrim history.

Father Bill, you are on the right track. However, the actual date was more influenced by retailers and business owners in 1941, when it became a permanate national holiday. The idea of setting aside a "day of thanks to God" was a common practice held by early English settlers as early as 1607. Some sources say the first offical day was on 13 December, 1621 which was held by the Pilgrims in the Massechusetts colony. From that time until 1941, it was held by individual states from early November to mid-December. Initially, the time for thanksgiving occurred usually after harvest time or when they survived harsh New England winters.


Cheers,
KC