Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual

Subject: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: GUEST,LadyJean
Date: 27 Dec 03 - 11:18 PM

I spend New Year's Eve with friends. Our hostess is German,Russian, and, she says, Gypsy. Her mother spent time with a Chinese family, just to complicate things.
Any way, at midnight on New Year's Eve, she pours wine, salt, and silver coins over her front step, as a holiday ritual. I'd love to know the origin of the custom. Does anyone have any ideas.
NO! I will not tell you where the house is. You wouldn't get more than $3 off her front step.
Incidentally, the coins are simply allowed to stay there. My friend doesn't pick them up, and her neighbors won't touch them.

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Dec 03 - 11:20 PM

She doesnt live in New York then ;-)

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: GUEST,LadyJean
Date: 27 Dec 03 - 11:22 PM

Pittsburgh, and for those of you who know the city, Beltzhoover!

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 28 Dec 03 - 04:42 AM

It sounds like a derivation of 'first footing' in the UK. First person in the house on New years day, usualy just after midnight, brings items symbolic of food, fuel and money so they will not be in short supply for the following year. In our case it usualy coal, bread, and coins. Traditionaly it should also be a stranger brings them in. Perhaps your hostess leaves them on the step in case a stranger in the know passes by and brings them in for her?

I will ask my Dad though. He is Polish/Russian studied German and also spent some time with Gypsies!

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 28 Dec 03 - 04:43 AM

Brings the coins in that is - I think the wine and salt would be more difficult to pick up:-)

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Cattail
Date: 28 Dec 03 - 01:55 PM

Since we got our first house I have done the similar ritual of taking
the bag containing salt, money, a piece of coal(that should probably
be a container of gas by now) and a loaf of bread out of the back
door, waiting until I hear the bells, fireworks etc signalling
midnight, and then ringing the front doorbell to be let in again.

I always presumed that this was related to the scots custom of
"first footing", my father always did it and I guess I just carried
on with the thing.

Doesn't help much but thats all I know.

Happy New Year to you all

Cattail !

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 Dec 03 - 02:23 PM

We never really did the first footing thing in Dorset where I grew up - it seems to be a custom that is more popular the farther north you go in the UK.

Instead, we would open the back and the front doors to let the old year out and the new year in. It was done to every building including the barns and the animal pens, and the garage (although there it was the doors and the tiny back window). In fact, other than weddings and funerals, this was the only time our front doors were ever used, even if it meant going around the house. It was quite strange for me the first time I moved into a house where there was no street access to the back door.

The bread, salt and coin custom was used by the local traveller family though (true Romanys they were), but only to their own. They had their winter pitch near us and I got friendly with the youngest girl when she came to school. She told me a lot of her customs, possibly because I was one of the few who would talk to her.

LTS

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: GUEST,pavane
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 07:44 AM

When I was sent first-footing to my Uncle's house (he is Scottish) many years ago, I am sure I had to carry some whisky as well as the coal.

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 10:07 AM

First you open the back door to let the old year out, and then you open the front to let the new one in. The "First Foot" in the new year should belong to a tall dark handsome stranger, and he should bear a gift, usually a lump of coal tied with a ribbon. Also carried in Scotland is a dense dark fruit cake called Black Bun, and a bottle of whisky doesn't go amiss. Years ago people also used to bring a red herring, which was wrapped with the head showing over the wrapping, like a fish in a dress. I believe that some were dressed quite elaborately.
Happy Hogmanay....John

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: PoppaGator
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 12:13 PM

My "old-maid" Aunt Peg, my father's oldest sister, often babysat me and my siblings on New Year's Eve, allowing my parents to go out. She would lead us thorough a ritual of exiting the house by the back door at midnight and reentering through the front door. No coins, food, coal, whiskey, or other artifacts.

Peg was born in Liverpool during my grandparents' brief stay there en route from County Mayo, Ireland, to New York. (They spent about a year there, working and saving money for the transatlantic passage.) The custom's origins must lie in the West of Ireland, unless Peg learned of it from her extensive reading (or simply made it up herself, which would be unlikely).

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Chief Chaos
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 12:40 PM

Don't know where any of it comes from but we had a ritual of eating at least one herring and sleeping with a silver dollar under our pillows.

I'm not sure but I've always thought it was because my family was just plain eccentric.

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Ed.
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 12:50 PM

I follow a 'first footing' tradition that my dad (born and bred in Dorset) did when I was growing up.

Pretty similar to Catail's above, except that it is coal, bread and water in my case. My Irish girlfriend thinks I'm quite mad (and had never come across the custom). However we've always been warm, well fed and well watered.

I'm going to take some coins out this year...

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: The O'Meara
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 12:51 PM

My Irish-American aunts, uncles and parents had a new year's day ritual involving aspirin, ice bags and bloody marys.

O'Meara

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: GUEST,LadyJean
Date: 29 Dec 03 - 11:36 PM

The coins stay where they are, sometimes until March. Guests don't pick them up, and the neighbors don't touch them. My friend is sort of the resident witch in her neighborhood. (The kids bring her black kittens.) Her area isn't the best part of town. I've had to hide under the bench in her garden because the local gangstas were shooting at each other. But my friend has lived there all her life, and most of her neighbors respect her.

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 12:29 AM

My New Year's ritual is to go to bed around 10:00 PM on New Year's Eve and wake up in a whole new year. I guess I'm pretty boring. I like the "first footing" customs though I won't stay up to start it in my family.

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: open mike
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 01:16 AM

when i moved into my new house a friend, whose daughter was studying
Celtic history at the university, was advised to bring salt and matches
and wine...for a house warming gift, sounds like the food fuel and drink
--gosh she left out the money,.,.,

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 05:23 AM

Ed - what part of Dorset was he from?

Has to be north of Blandford, they'm all funny up thur you!

LTS

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 06:59 AM

As a boy I used to put a shoe behind the door on new Year's Eve; in the morning it was always filled with a coin, a book and an orange - symbolic of wealth, knowlege and food/health. Anyone know about this?

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 07:48 AM

In Australia, on SBS TV, for many years now, they have shown the program
"Dinner for One"
- Freddy Frinton, Mary Warden.
Wed 8pm.

An elderly woman's birthday party is traditionally visited by four of her best friends. The butler stands in for her now deceased friends. These two did this for years on stage - you could only do it once now for the all-devouring-eye. If you haven't seen it at least once, it's worth catching. If you thought Chaplin Silent movies were funny, then the butler as he drinks all the toasts for her four friends for each course of the meal that he serves is worth watching for a study in stagecraft.

It's sort of an Australian TV Tradition, I suppose.... :-)

Robin

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: UB Ed
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 08:28 AM

WARNING: POTENTIAL THREAD CREEP...

But maybe not.

Lady Jean, there is a group of folks who identify themselves as German Russians not insomuch as they had a parent from each country, but that they are descended from a group of Germans who went to live in Russia at the invitation of Catherine the Great. After two or three generations, Russia became less hospitable to this group (who never interacted too much with the Russian population) and a large number emigrated to the US, predominantly settling on the plains of southern North Dakota and northern South Dakota. Of course the train went through Pittsburgh.

Perhaps hers is a German custom?

Ed

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 09:52 PM

In Australia, on SBS TV, for many years now, they have shown the program "Dinner for One"

Robin,

Apparently this is also the New Year's custom in Germany; I have heard/read (from several different sources) that this is the thing to do on New Year's eve in Germany, and has been for many, many years.

Cheers,

YY

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 09:56 PM

In Australia, on SBS TV, for many years now, they have shown the program "Dinner for One"

Robin,

Interestingly, I have heard/read (from several different sources) that watching this movie on the telly is the thing to do in Germany on New Year's eve -- and has been for many, many years...

Cheers,

YY

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 10:06 PM

YorkshireYankee

the source of this is in a fact a German Production. :-)

Robin

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 11:00 PM

Oops,

Sorry for the double post -- I was actually about to try to post again, as I got the impression (from the "error" messages that resulted) that neither of my previous two attempts to post had been successful...

YY

Subject: RE: Folklore: New Year's Eve Ritual
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 11:53 PM

BTW,
I think the date on the production is about 1965..

must be quite a German Tradition by now... look what they started with those damn trees - where would Cletus be these days, if it wasn't for the trees?

Robin