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Downton Abbey ~ Anna and Bates

Posted on by Fr. Peter

***SPOILER ALERT***

Anna May Bates portrayed by actress Anna Joanne Froggatt
Anna May Bates portrayed by actress Anna Joanne Froggatt

Like millions of Americans I am absolutely captivated by the PBS period drama Downton Abbey.  Now in its 4th season the program follows the happenings of the well to do British family in the 1920’s and their servants.  A modern version of Upstairs Downstairs if you will.

The show has not been afraid of tackling all of the difficult questions that would have arisen in the day.  Why is it that a woman cannot inherit her family’s fortune?  This was the question in season one of the program.  Also in that season we saw the ladies maid O’Brien put a piece of soap on the floor so her Mistress would slip and fall.  The resulting fall triggered the loss of her unborn child.  The First World War was also dealt with and the resulting injuries and the changes that would follow in British Society.

But last night the program took on a situation that one would not have expected on this particular program.  A large group of visitors had come to the Abbey for a few days and they, as always, brought their servants with them.  This is always an interesting time on the program as servants from other “grand houses” come and there is usually a clash of some kind.  One the Valets took a shine to Ladies Maid Anna May Bates to the point where he rapes Anna downstairs whilst the servants are treated to a concert upstairs.  I had an inkling that something was going to take place as there was a warning about adult content at the start of the program.

Reaction to this has been mixed.  When the program originally aired in Britain late last year people wrote to the network to complain about the topic but I did not find it offensive in anyway.  In a shift away from most modern TV dramas the scene was not specifically about the violence, you knew something was happening, and you even knew what that something was, but just as it was about to begin the scene changed.  It left the viewer to determine what was happening.

In an October 2013 interview with the BBC Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes said, “The whole point of the way we do things on Downton is we don’t do them gratuitously.”  The rape was not done for the sake of the rape itself but to show how Anna and her husband John Bates, will now have to deal with this issue.

We got a bit of a glimpse of that last night when Housekeeper Mrs. Hughs came into the room and found Anna in the dark and sitting in the corner crying and obviously shaken up.  She did not want anyone but Mrs. Hughs to know what had happened, and based on her reaction one could tell she knew exactly what had happened to Anna.  The covered it up so no one would know.

The Actress who plays Anna, Joanne Froggatt spoke to the BBC in 2013 about the scene and where it was going to go, “I think it’s a really brave thing to do… I believe that Julian has written it in a way that is not gratuitous at all.”  She said she was “proud” that this was being tackled and, “We all felt a big responsibility to get it right.”

For me the problem lies not in what was and is being portrayed but the reaction to it.  Americans, by and large, like to watch TV for the entertainment value they do not like programs that make one think about anything.  Just look at some of the programs like Jersey Shore and the Real Housewives nonsense that is all the rage.  Smart and engaging programing is not popular, or is it?

Dowton Abbey has not been afraid to take the viewers to the very brink, hey they killed off one of the main characters right at the height of his popularity and that is exactly what they are doing here.  Set in a time when a woman had no voice in society, especially a servant woman, this will set the stage for the rest of the season.

It is my hope that the program will take this head on and show the effects of this type of trauma on a person not only of the last century but of the present one.  How Anna will deal with the mental trauma will be a great direction to explore.  Anna is a strong character but will she be able to bounce back from this?  Will she open up to her husband and perhaps to Lady Mary?  I guess we will just have to watch and see.

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Chaplain John Rosbrugh Martyr for the Cause

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Rev. John Rosbrugh marker Mercer County New Jersey
Rev. John Rosbrugh marker Mercer County New Jersey

On the 29th of July 1775 General George Washington authorized clergy to serve with the troops and thus was born the Chaplain Corps of the United States Army.  Since that day, chaplains have served with distinction in peace time as well as in war.  Men and women of all faiths have answered not only the call of God, but the call of their country to serve alongside soldiers, sailors, and marines in all situations.  This is the story of one such chaplain.

John Rosbrugh was born in 1714 in Northern Ireland and came to America with several members of his family and settled in New Jersey.  He attended the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, and in 1762 he was licensed to preach by the New Brunswick Presbytery.  Two years later he was called to pastor congregations in Greenwich, Oxford, and Mansfield Woodhouse in Western New Jersey and was ordained to the ministry in the Presbyterian Church.

The main source of information to the residence of communities in the Colonies was from the pulpit.  Many preachers used the time to stir up their congregations to fight for their rights that were being reduced each day by Parliament.  There were fiery sermons delivered from pulpits up and down the coast by what became known as the “Black Robed Regiment.”  American patriotism and theology were woven together to show that Liberty and Freedom were gifts given to people by God and, in the words of the Declaration of Independence these rights were “unalienable.”

So moved were the members of Rev. Rosbrugh’s congregations they formed a regiment and asked him to lead them.  The thought he would go to war with them as their chaplain but they asked him to in fact, be their commander.  He took the head of regiment, slung his musket over his shoulder, and led them to join up with General Washington and the Continental Army in Philadelphia.

After their arrival in Philadelphia it was decided that Rev. Rosbrugh was better suited to the role of chaplain and he was replaced by Captain John Hays.  At this time in the history of the Chaplain Corps the Army Chaplain was not provided a uniform, he would have worn the common black clothing of a preacher, he did however hold the rank of major and received pay of thirty-three and half dollars per month for his service.

It is important to note that at this point in time in history, Presbyterian minsters were especially hated by the British troops and if they were captured they would suffer the cruelest treatment.

On the afternoon of January 2 1777 General Washington decided to take Trenton for the second time, the battle is known as the Battle of Assunpink Creek, and Rev Rosbrugh’s company was involved in this battle.  When the attack began he was dining at a public house when he heard the alarm sound.  Leaving the building he found that his horse had been taken and he was suddenly confronted by a company of Hessian Troops.  He raised his arms in surrender but he was recognized as a Presbyterian minister and he was bayonetted to death on the spot.  He was stripped of all of his clothes and left naked in the snow.

William Dwyer, in his book The Day is Ours! An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, November 1776-January 1777 [1] he suggests that Rev. Rosbrugh was so brutally killed because he was mistaken for the Rev. John Witherspoon whom the British troops had burned in effigy not long before this attack took place.

Captain Hayes herded of the death of his chaplain went to find his body.  He found him in the spot where he had been killed and quickly buried him there.  The next day his body was moved by fellow Presbyterian minister George Duffield and was buried in the Presbyterian Church graveyard in Trenton.

Although it is believed he still lies in the grave he was placed in after his death there is some uncertainty to the exact location.  His wife, who died in 1809, is buried in a cemetery in East Allen Township and the inscription on her stone indicates that he is buried alongside her.

Was he a victim of mistaken identity?  Was he in the wrong place at the wrong time?  No one knows for certain.  What is known is that Chaplain Rosbrugh was the first US Chaplain to be killed in battle.  He died, as so many others did, a martyr for the cause of freedom.

Chaplains continue to serve today in all branches of the US military and bring comfort to all in some of the most difficult situations.  One of those was Chaplain (MAJ) Henry Timothy “Tim” Vakoc a Roman Catholic priest who died of wounds received when his Humvee was struck by an IED.  Chaplain Vakoc is the only US Chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq war.

[1] William M. Dwyer, The Day is Ours! An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, November 1776-January 1777 (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 1998) p. 323

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The Legend of Handkerchief Moody

Posted on by Fr. Peter
"The children fled from his approach", illustration by Elenore Abbott, 1900
“The children fled from his approach”, illustration by Elenore Abbott, 1900

I have been engaged in family research for many years.  My brothers and I set out on this time of discovery and it has turned into an on again off again affair for more than 30 years.  We have encountered many interesting facts along the way like my 9th Great Grandfather Abraham Preble was one of the founders of the Town of Scituate Massachusetts and my 2nd cousin 8 times removed was the first Captain of the USS Constitution and made his fame fighting the Barbary Pirates off of Tripoli.  But there are also many average folks like my Great Grandfather who fought in the Spanish American War and my Grand Aunt who became Superintendent of Schools in Japan after the Second World War.  But there is one fascinating story that has made it from family lore to full blown history and that is the Legend of Handkerchief Moody.

There are two stories that go along with this legend.

In a letter dated January 15, 1851 written to Rear Admiral George Henry Preble, the Preble Family Historian, Mr. Alexander McIntire recounts the tail. [1]

In 1710 my 8th Great Grand Uncle Ebenezer Preble was a boy of 12 and was preparing to enter college at Harvard.  His friend, Joseph Moody, who was 10 and was also preparing for college were playing with an old rusty horse pistol that they had found in the trash.  The gun had been charged with powder and a ball years before it was thrown into the trash by someone in the family.  Taking a break from their studies they found more powder and decided to amuse themselves by putting powder in the pan of the pistol and causing it to flash.  Several hours passed and each boy took his turn with the pistol.  At some point, the pistol fired whilst being held by young Joseph Moody and the ball struck Ebenezer Preble in the heart killing him immediately.

Ebenezer’s Father, Judge Abraham Preble tells the story a little differently.  In his account, the boys were in the woods hunting deer and other wild animals.  The two boys had been separated from each other at some time during the day and Joseph Moody heard a sound and saw movement from under the leaves and without hesitation he shot.  When he moved the leaves he found his friend, Ebenezer Preble, mortally wounded.

Whichever story is true only history will know, but what took place after is what the amazing part of the story is.

Joseph Moody graduated from Harvard College in 1718 where he studied Divinity and the law.  In 1725 he was elected Town Clerk of the Town of York Maine and served in that capacity until 1732 when he became minister of Second Parish in York it was during his tenure as pastor that things took on a decidedly different turn.  Joseph Moody began wearing a black veil, tied in a knot above his head, and covering his face at all times.

In an essay from the Book, Mysterious New England Gail M. Potter writes: [2]

For six years he got along tolerably well with the saving of souls, while his wife took charge of temporal things. But when she died, the care of two worlds proved too much for him, and he fell into a state of deep melancholy. In this clouded condition, his once brilliant mind developed a pronounced phobia: no one must see his face. And so he presented himself to his congregation with his features masked in a black silk handkerchief. For weeks, wonder, speculation, and rumor churned with whirlwind intensity through the village. Was he demented? His sermons were too logical for that. Had he been scarred by an accident? If so, no chirurgeon knew of it. Had his eyes been weakened by working far into the night on his sermons? With no other plausible explanation, his parishioners convinced themselves that this was the true one.

Joseph Moody could never forgive himself for the killing of his friend, in both stories it was an accident, but nevertheless he could not bring himself to find forgiveness.  Perhaps it was his grief over the loss of his friend come back to haunt him after all of those years.

This eventually proved too much for him and he abandoned the pulpit and move in with another family.  He would supply his father’s pulpit from time to time bur for the most part he had withdrawn from public life.

In 1770, at the time of his death he revealed to a fellow clergyman why he wore the veil, it was in fact because of the guilt he felt about the killing of his friend, according to the story written by Gail Potter I quoted above, “during a hunting accident.”  He hid the fact that he had done this and the town’s folk believed that Ebenezer had been killed by Indians.  Not an uncommon occurrence in those days.  For years the face of young Ebenezer had haunted Joseph until he could not take it anymore and he, as he said in his dying breath, “put a veil between myself and the world.”

His request was granted and the veil was over his face as he lies in the coffin that would take him to his final resting place.

The Poet Nathaniel Hawthorne would write a short story called the Minister’s Black Veil based on the story of Handkerchief Moody.

[1] Preble, George Henry, The First Three Generations of Prebles in America, David Clapp & Son 1868
[2] Potter, Gail M., The Legend of Handkerchief Moody, Mysterious New England, Yankee Books, 1971

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We are asking the Wrong Question

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Fr. George Florivsky
Fr. George Florivsky

“Theologians today, Orthodox, Catholic and others, want to get out of the confusion, but they do so by the wrong method. They start with the wrong problems, which are posed by contemporary thought, and they adjust the Christian message to these wrong questions, and nothing good can come out of these. But the true theological methodology starts with the message and tries to understand the queries of today in light of the message. My impression is that many theologians ask ‘how can we adjust the method to the hippies’ mentality,’ and my question is ‘how can the hippy be impressed by the message, how do you present the message to the hippy to impress him with it.’ This is a methodological problem. It is true that the physician must start with the illness, but he regards the illness as illness, and if he does not regard as illness, but just as brute fact, he will never heal the illness. People are so impressed by the confusion of today, that they try to adjust the Gospel to it. Well, it is impossible.”

– Fr. Georges Florovsky
Unpublished remarks noted by his secretary Maria Vorobiova
Late 1960’s

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A Pilgrim’s Way: A Search in Sacred Romania

Posted on by Fr. Peter

One of the first books I read on my journey towards Orthodoxy was The Way of the Pilgrim.  This is a story of a young man who sets out to find out the meaning of continuous prayer.  He comes into contact with several people who aid him in his quest on this journey and he eventually does find the meaning.

The series of videos below is a similar story.  A Canadian-Romanian sets off on a journey to find out more about becoming a saint and if there are still saints today.  To do this he returns to his native Romania.

I have only watched the first episode but if the rest are like this one it will be a great series.  It is in English and some Romanian with English subtitles.  We worth the time to watch.

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Prayer at the First Continental Congress

Posted on by Fr. Peter

firstcontcongresslarge

On September 5, 1774 at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Peyton Randolph of Virginia called into session delegates from 12 of the 13 Colonies, Georgia was not present at this time.  Prior to the start of the Congress, the Reverend Jacob Duché, Rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia rose to invoke the blessings of God on those gathered and the work they were about to undertake.

O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle!

Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.

Amen.

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Did You Not Sin?

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel

In yesterday’s essay I quoted Walter Brueggemann that the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis are the most important in Scripture, well so far that has certainly proved to be the case.  Today we come face to face with chapter 4 and the kill of Abel.

This is an interesting passage on many levels.  We have a sacrifice that is unpleasing to God, not because of what is on the outside but because of what is in the heart of Cain.  Cain did everything he was required to do, but his heart was not in the right place.  Abel had a right discerning heart and had his passions under control; Cain on the other hand let his passions get the better of him.

Cain’s life was characterized by the domination of the sinful passions and in verse 6 we see that his countenance had fallen and he was filled with extreme sorrow.  Because of his arrogant approach towards worship and the rejection of his sacrifice by God he continued to sin.  Sorrow for our sins leads us towards humility and repentance but in the case of Cain his extreme sorrow led him in the other direction and his sorrow turned into hatred for and of his brother, jealousy drove him to murder and the hiding of his brother’s body from God.

The Lord asks Cain about his fallen countenance and asks him, “did you not sin?”  God was asking to try and bring Cain to repentance, he was commended by God for worship but God scolded him for not having his heart in the right place.  You see we can come to Church and do all of the right things but if our heart is not in it then it is not right worship, in fact it is a mockery.

God told Cain to be still, to settle his heart.  That is the goal of our spiritual life, interior silence, when our life is filled with the turbulence of passions it leads us to do things we might not do if we were in a period of silence.  This is not easy in our crazy world we live in.  As I sit and write these words my mind is going ay 90 miles per hour about all of the things that need to accomplish today.  But we need to slow down, center our thoughts on God, and pray for guidance.  Acting out of our passions is what leads us to sin.  This is what led Cain to kill his brother.

Cain was so blind by his rage, and working completely on his passions, he felt that his sin was so grievous that he could not be forgiven for it.  Cain says to God, “My guilt is too great to be forgiven,” to which God responds, “Not so!”  God then makes a covenant with Cain that he will live.  No sin is so great that God will not forgive us.

But Cain was not convinced and Scripture tells us “he went out from the presence of the Lord and welt in the land of Nod opposite Eden.”  He left the Lord presence and set out on his own.  The commentary says that the name Nod means “one who wanders away from God” Cain set out on his own opposite Eden, the place where God dwells.  Cain did the opposite of what God wanted him to do.

When we set off on our own, when we turn our back on God, God is never far from us and all we need do is turn around, turn away from ourselves, and turn back to Him.  Just like the Prodigal Son, God will forgive all and welcome us back into the family.

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Let us Make Man in our Image

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Let us make man in Our Image
Let us make man in Our Image

I do not usually make New Year’s resolutions because I never follow through on them.  I start of great but in a few shorts weeks it is gone.  Well, I hope to change that this year.  I am taking up the challenge to read the Bible in One Year.  (I will be using this scheme if you would like to join me.) I have done it before but this time I am going to take it slow and really focus on the text.  Scripture is very important in the life of the Orthodox Church, most of our Liturgical services are thick with references from Scripture.  Dare I say that in a typical Divine Liturgy on Sunday, Orthodox Christians here more Scripture than the Protestants who claim that the Bible is all they need!

So along with the reading I will be reflecting on various themes from the Scripture I am reading and I will write about it here on these pages.  It might not be everyday or even once a week, but when I come across something that is of particular interest or perhaps jumps out at me, I will reflect upon it.  I welcome your questions and your comments.  I am not a Scripture scholar only a pilgrim looking for answers.

It is logical then to start “In the beginning” with the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis.  Walter Brueggemann in the Interpretation series of Biblical Commentaries say that “The first 11 chapters of Genesis are among the most important in Scripture.”  I certainly have found this to be true.  Whilst in seminary, I took a summer class on this subject.  The class met for four hours a day for three weeks and we were supposed to get through all 11 chapters.  I cannot remember for sure, but I don’t think we made it past 5 or 6 chapters that is how much is included in these chapters.

I am zeroing in on Chapter 1 and the first part verse 26, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”  The first that jumps out to me in the use of the plural “Us” and “Our.”  At a first glance, and using the language of the New King James Version, one might simply think this is regal language however, St. John Chrysostom indicates this is the Father speaking to God the Son as an indication of the distinctness of the Three Persons of the Trinity and that the Trinity existed before creation itself and was part of that creation.

But what image, if the first person and the third person of the Trinity have no human form what image is this creation to take?  Man is not one in nature with the Trinity, we see that each member of the Trinity is separate but one in nature, humanity is not part of that nature, in the sense that the others are, the dignity, and the worth of each man and woman is the image and likeness of God.

The modern world has reduced humans to things and respect for human life, all along the spectrum of that life, is not respected.  Poverty, war, hunger, murder all disrespect dignity of humanity and thus disrespects the image and likeness of God.  When humans are used as a means to an end their value is, well, devalued.  If we respect God then by extension we must respect His creation.

We see in the seven preceding creation events, air, water, sun, moon, animals, plants, etc. God says “it is very good” nothing that God creates is bad and that includes humanity.  Nothing that God made is evil in itself.  Human nature is good in itself but sin is a choice and that free choice of man to sin is contrary to both God’s nature and human nature.  People are not evil, their actions are.  Everything that God creates is good, simply put, because God is good.

The creator has a purpose for His creation and creation exists because of that purpose and because of the will of God.  The Creator did not abandon His creation but continues to address the creation.  The response of creation, humanity, is to show our faithful and of obedience to His will, His will not our will.  God does not impose His will on us it is given freely to us and we have to choose, through obedience, to accept it or turn away from it.  The sovereign rule of God is expressed by humanity through trust is His will for us and in accepting the generous invitation of God to follow Him.

Take particular note of the fact that Humanity is the only part of Creation that God actually speaks to.  This indicates that humanity is to have a much different relationship with God than any other part of His creation.  This is to be a very intimate relationship; God shows genuine care for humanity by creating a helper for it when it was alone.  This was not done for any other part of creation.  And because of this intimate relationship this is the only way that God is imaged in the world because humanity has the freedom to be faithful and generous, these are the energies of God.  He is always faithful, no matter what we do, and He is generous with His love.

Man and woman are not simply chattel and servants of God but agents of God to whom much is given but from whom much will be expected.  Humanity is not a single entity, “male and female he created them.”  We all stand alone before God but because of being created male and female we have been created as community.  None of us is the full image and likeness of God on our own, only in community can the image and likeness of God be reflected, God is not individual but communion, we need each other!

I will end this reflection with a quote from Walter Brueggemann about the nature of creation itself. “Creation is God’s decision not to look after Himself but to focus his energies and purposes on the creation.”

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55 Maxims for Christian Living

Posted on by Fr. Peter

55 Maxims for Christian Livingfr.thomas_hopko
by Fr. Thomas Hopko
1. Be always with Christ.
2. Pray as you can, not as you want.
3. Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline.
4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times a day.
5. Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.
6. Make some prostrations when you pray.
7. Eat good foods in moderation.
8. Keep the Church’s fasting rules.
9. Spend some time in silence every day.
10. Do acts of mercy in secret.
11. Go to liturgical services regularly
12. Go to confession and communion regularly.
13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut them off at the start.
14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings regularly to a trusted person.
15. Read the scriptures regularly.
16. Read good books a little at a time.
17. Cultivate communion with the saints.
18. Be an ordinary person.
19. Be polite with everyone.
20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.
21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.
22. Exercise regularly.
23. Live a day, and a part of a day, at a time.
24. Be totally honest, first of all, with yourself.
25. Be faithful in little things.
26. Do your work, and then forget it.
27. Do the most difficult and painful things first.
28. Face reality.
29. Be grateful in all things.
30. Be cheefull.
31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.
32. Never bring attention to yourself.
33. Listen when people talk to you.
34. Be awake and be attentive.
35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.
36. When we speak, speak simply, clearly, firmly and directly.
37. Flee imagination, analysis, figuring things out.
38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.
39. Don’t complain, mumble, murmur or whine.
40. Don’t compare yourself with anyone.
41. Don’t seek or expect praise or pity from anyone.
42. We don’t judge anyone for anything.
43. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything.
44. Don’t defend or justify yourself.
45. Be defined and bound by God alone.
46. Accept criticism gratefully but test it critically.
47. Give advice to others only when asked or obligated to do so.
48. Do nothing for anyone that they can and should do for themselves.
49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.
50. Be merciful with yourself and with others.
51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.
52. Focus exclusively on God and light, not on sin and darkness.
53. Endure the trial of yourself and your own faults and sins peacefully, serenely, because you know that God’s mercy is greater than your wretchedness.
54. When we fall, get up immediately and start over.
55. Get help when you need it, without fear and without shame.

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Repost ~ Hogmanay

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Hogmanay
A few years ago my family decided to celebrate the Scots New Years with a Hogmanay celebration. So I will be heading home on New Years day for some food and fun with family and friends. I thought I would give a little information about what Hogmanay is for my readers who are unsure what this is all about. The following information comes courtesy of wikipedia.

The roots of Hogmanay perhaps reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic New Year’s celebration of Samhain. In Europe, winter solstice evolved into the ancient celebration of Saturnalia, a great Roman winter festival, where people celebrated completely free of restraint and inhibition. The Vikings celebrated Yule, which later contributed to the Twelve Days of Christmas, or the “Daft Days” as they were sometimes called in Scotland. The winter festival went underground with the Protestant Reformation and ensuing years, but re-emerged near the end of the 17th century.There are many customs, both national and local, associated with Hogmanay. The most widespread national custom is the practice of ‘first-footing’ which starts immediately after midnight. This involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour and often involves the giving of symbolic gifts such as salt (less common today), coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a rich fruit cake) intended to bring different kinds of luck to the householder. Food and drink (as the gifts) are then given to the guests. This may go on throughout the early hours of the morning and well into the next day (although modern days see people visiting houses until 3 January). The first-foot is supposed to set the luck for the rest of the year.Each area of Scotland often developed its own particular Hogmanay ritual.Catalonian Sun Goddess from the Hogmanay Street Party, Edinburgh 2005

Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony 2003

An example of a local Hogmanay custom is the fireball swinging that takes place in Stonehaven, Kincardineshire in north-east Scotland. This involves local people making up ‘balls’ of chicken wire and tar, paper, and other flammable material up to a diameter of 61 cm. Each ball has 2 m of wire, chain or nonflammable rope attached. As the Old Town House bell sounds to mark the new year, the swingers set off up the High Street from the Mercat Cross to the Cannon and back, swinging their burning ball around their head as they go for as many times as they and their fireball last. At the end of the ceremony any fireballs that are still burning are cast into the harbour. Many people enjoy this display, which is more impressive in the dark than it would be during the day. As a result large crowds flock to the town to see it, with 12,000 attending the 2007/2008 event. In recent years, additional attractions have been added to entertain the crowds as they wait for midnight, such as fire poi, a pipe band, street drumming and a firework display after the last fireball is cast into the sea.

Another example of a pagan fire festival is the the burning of the clavie which takes place in the town of Burghead in Moray.

In the east coast fishing communities and Dundee, first-footers used to carry a decorated herring while in Falkland in Fife, local men would go in torchlight procession to the top of the Lomond Hills as midnight approached. Bakers in St Andrews would bake special cakes for their Hogmanay celebration (known as ‘Cake Day’) and distribute them to local children.

In Glasgow and the central areas of Scotland, the tradition is to hold Hogmanay parties involving singing, dancing, the eating of steak pie or stew, storytelling and consumption of copious amounts of alcohol, which usually extend into the daylight hours of January 1.

Institutions also had their own traditions. For example, amongst the Scottish regiments, the officers had to wait on the men at special dinners while at the bells, the Old Year is piped out of barrack gates. The sentry then challenges the new escort outside the gates: ‘Who goes there?’ The answer is ‘The New Year, all’s well.’

An old custom in the Highlands, which has survived to a small extent and seen some degree of revival, is to celebrate Hogmanay with the saining (Scots for ‘protecting, blessing) of the household and livestock. This was done early on New Year’s morning with copious, choking clouds of smoke from burning juniper branches, and by drinking and then sprinkling ‘magic water’ from ‘a dead and living ford’ around the house (‘a dead and living ford’ refers to a river ford which is routinely crossed by both the living and the dead). After the sprinkling of the water in every room, on the beds and all the inhabitants, the house was sealed up tight and the burning juniper carried through the house and byre. The smoke was allowed to thoroughly fumigate the buildings until it caused sneezing and coughing among the inhabitants. Then all the doors and windows were flung open to let in the cold, fresh air of the new year. The woman of the house then administered ‘a restorative’ from the whisky bottle, and the household sat down to their New Year breakfast.

The Hogmanay custom of singing Auld Lang Syne has become common in many countries. Auld Lang Syne is a traditional poem reinterpreted by Robert Burns, which was later set to music. It is now common for this to be sung in a circle of linked arms that are crossed over one another as the clock strikes midnight for New Year’s Day, although in Scotland the traditional practice is to cross arms only for the last verse.

When Ne’erday falls on a Sunday, 3 January becomes an additional public holiday in Scotland; when Ne’erday falls on a Saturday, both 3 January and 4 January will be public holidays in Scotland; when Ne’erday falls on a Friday, 4 January becomes an additional public holiday in Scotland.

As in much of the world, the four largest Scottish cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Dundee, hold all-night celebrations, as does Stirling. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations are among the largest in the world, although in 2003-4 most of the organised events were cancelled at short notice due to very high winds. The Stonehaven Fireballs went ahead as planned, however, with 6000 hardy souls braving the weather to watch 42 fireball swingers process along the High Street. Similarly, the 2006-07 celebrations in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling were all cancelled on the day, again due to high winds and heavy rain. The Aberdeen celebration, however, went ahead, and was opened by the pop music group, Wet Wet Wet.

The etymology of the word is obscure. It may have been introduced to Middle Scots through the Auld Alliance. In 1604 the custom was mentioned in the Elgin Records as hagmonay. The most satisfactory explanation is a derivation from the Northern French dialect word hoguinané, or variants such as hoginane, hoginono and hoguinettes. Those being derived from 16th century Old French aguillanneuf which is either a gift given at New Year, a children’s cry for such a gift or New Year’s Eve itself. The second element would appear to be l’an neuf i.e. the New Year. Compare those to Norman hoguinané and the obsolete customs in Jersey of crying ma hodgîngnole, and in Guernsey of asking for an oguinane, for a New Year gift.

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