|
Folklore – New Year
First Footing
Many people continue the general tradition of 'first footing' on New Year's day, usually within its first few minutes, with various items being brought into their premises by a ‘first’ visitor’ who often brings gifts with them, bread, salt, coin and coal being among the most favoured.
The visitor is usually loudly greeted but, traditionally however, in many Devon areas the visitor is awaited and respected in silence until the tokens of food, warmth, wealth or preservation are placed safely in the home; the coal being placed on the fire.
A branch of greenery, as the gift of continuing life, is still brought into many Devon premises by the visitor; in coastal villages, a herring was an equally appropriate gift.
A passing stranger arriving as a ‘first footer’ by accident, without bearing gifts, was feared as foretelling poverty or poor times in the coming year.
Dark haired or dark complexioned ‘first footers,’ preferably young, fit and healthy men, are usually associated with the first footing custom but, across the country, there are variations to this where fair haired and even red haired visitors are still welcomed.
That gift of greenery is the major indication that ‘first footing’ changed with the times when the New Year left its Lady Day, 25th March, location to take up the January 1st date celebrated today. The buds of spring or early flowers were, of necessity, replaced with available greenery.
Similarly, the mediaeval Feast of Fools, celebrated into the 20th century on January 3rd is now almost forgotten; but only almost.
The feast also moved with the calendar changes and while it retained its position close to New Year, it is the fooleries of April 1st, surviving close to Lady Day, that remain the predominant and timely reminder of the mediaeval festivities.
While the Roman festival of Saturnalia has consistently been considered to have provided the foundation for our New Year traditions, the more recent revelations of life in Britain, BC, confirm the that the traditions are of a much earlier origin.
Similarly, the fire festivals still held on Old New Years Eve, 11th January, in Scotland indicate a pagan heritage that defies human efforts to control dates and times.
New Year’s Water
A significant tradition still maintained in the SouthWest is the taking of, ‘First water,’ from the well; or drawn from the convenient tap nowadays.
The water, regarded as ‘the cream of the well,’ was said to bring wealth and happiness to the household.
First water given to cattle ensured a good supply of milk and cream through the year, many calves, and good meat.
First water supped by fowl, hens, ducks, geese, etc, ensured a plentiful supply of eggs and, in due course, good hatchings.
Well watching - was observed by at least one member of a family, to ensure that they reached the well before all others to draw the ‘first water’ and thereby ensure that the best the new year had to offer, in various ways, was received by their family.
People queuing all night outside departmental stores and shops to obtain the best bargains at sales is often perceived as, perhaps, a modern version of well watching.
We have been able to record that those still taking first water from the well, or tap, also seem to remember to retain a cupful to toast the Feast of Fools two days later.
During the Feast of Fools in the Middle Ages - monks and clergy turned their austere lifestyle upside down and parodied all the church ceremonies for a week.
They appointed an Abbot of Misrule – and toasted his success with ‘first water.’
But, at that time, January 3rd was nowhere near New Year.
The calendar changes of 1752 confused our ancestors who believed that they had lost days from their lives, placed New Year in a totally different part of the year and has succeeded in misleading the unwary to celebrate the festivals of our forefathers on incorrect dates.
However, they also provided followers of truly ancient folklore with the opportunity to celebrate many festivals twice over; on the ‘old’ dates and the new.
Roy & Ursula Radford
29th December 2003
|
