A New Year's Day customs and first-footing

New Year is a minefield of superstitions. There is plenty of good luck to be garnered, but one foot wrong - first or otherwise - and ill-fortune, the evil eye, death, plagues of carnivorous geese and worse await. From Manchester comes a warning about being over-zealous in enforcing these traditions. A man once walked into a pub in the city and asked for whisky on credit. Giving money in the form of cash or credit on New Year's Day is considered very bad luck, but as the date was Monday January 2nd, the man felt that he was entitled to his whisky. The barman refused, pointing out that as New Year's Day had fallen on the Sunday, the Monday was the carried-over holiday and so counted as January 1st, taboos and all. One thing led to another, and during the ensuing brawl the barman was stabbed to death. The discreditable drinker was sent to the gallows.

It is unlucky to give credit, or cause someone to be in your debt, at New Year. But to give unconditionally brings unbridled good fortune, and this is the basis of first-footing. The correct first-foot steps are made by a man - usually tall and dark, but that varies enormously up and down the country - who should arrive after midnight carrying symbols of warmth, wealth and food. A favourite combination is coal, salt and cake - sometimes known as handsel. Ideally the Footer should be entertained when he was finished symbolicking around.

Twigs of evergreen are recommended first-footing items too; and, for fishing communities such as Dundee, a red herring. If the Footer - also known as Lucky Bird in Yorkshire, and Quaaltagh on the Isle of Man - fails to bring anything, expect a miserable year. The best quaaltagh is a person born foot-first; while the worst quaaltagh is a spaagah, a splay-footed man.

A favourite Scottish first-footing drink was the het pint, a mixture of beer, whisky, sugar and eggs - the night before and the following breakfast all in one. At Lanark in Strathclyde the drink has been institutionalised at the Het Pint Ceremony, held this morning at the District Council Offices. In 1662 money from a 'Mortification' - in this case the interest on three debts owing to the council - was used to sent five poor boys to Lanark Grammar School, and for other pious causes. From this charity arose the tradition of providing a large glass- a Scots pint used to be the equivalent of three English ones - of mulled ale for the 'decayed burgesses' of the town. These days this is taken to mean local pensioners, who get £1 as well as their pint at the ceremony.

All year,evil and deceases (particularly one known s smut) were prevented from crossing the threshold by twisting hawthorn into a globe-shape, seasoning it with cider,and hanging it in the kitchen. Today was the day to remove the globe and put a new one in its place. The old one then had to be placed on a pile of burning straw and carried across the fields to the family dump. If the flames blew out en route then a poor year for crop lay ahead. Two chief areas for this Burning the Bush ceremony were at Brinsop and Birley Court, both near Hereford. In Worcestershire, a crown of blackthorn twigs took the place of the hawthorn.