first-footin

Updated: July 9, 2025

After supper we repaired to the streets to see the crowds that congregate on Hogmanhay, to make acquaintance with the mysteries of "first-footin'," and to join in ushering in the "guid new year." It was a stirring time, for Scotchmen encounter their Hogmanhay with ardent spirits. They are as keen in their pleasures as in their work. Compare for instance their country dances with ours.

Joseph Tatlow - Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland