New years day superstitions

Where I live, January the first is a very significant day. In our village there's a family fancy dress party at the local pub but my son and I went to nearby Rothbury. He ran there cross country and I met him there. The Rothbury pipe band played, very stirring, and then we went to one of the pubs where a huge gathering of local musicians played traditional tunes for hours on end. It was brilliant.

No family superstitions here. Maybe a bit unusual, since my folks were born 1916 and 1918.

I do always like to do a fairly major clean before the tree and other decorations go up (especially if guests are coming to stay) but that’s usually because it’s overdue anyway!

Set off on holiday New Year’s Day is a tradition in Australia. We wait until 2 nd January because the traffic is horrendous on the 1 st. It is overrun with tourists where we are, that’s the only thing.

62Granny

My mother used to say , "whatever you do on New Year's day you will do everyday for the rest of year"
My husband used to take this literally when we were first married😂💏

My mum used to say that as well, but added a proviso watch what you do on New years day or you will do it everyday.
In our village my gran had a party that started at just after midnight after out grandad had brought the New year in .All the men stood on a certain corner where they could hear the ships ,mines and Steel works hooters and then go home to bring in the new year.The older teenagers had supper with everyone then went off to a big dance in the town that did not start until after midnight.
DH village was different they went from house to house having a drink and a mince pie and that house joining on and having a final party at the last house.

Reading what I wrote last year still applies, but I had to laugh when the washing that I’d carefully sorted ready to put on first thing on Tuesday had been put in the machine and switched on by DH just before we went to bed on the 1st. I hope that won’t count.

My mother used to say , "whatever you do on New Year's day you will do everyday for the rest of year"
My husband used to take this literally when we were first married😂💏

I have lived in Tyneside all my life.When I was a child we lived right near the river and my mother would let us stay up on New Years Eve to hear the ships hooting each other on the river.Sadly no ships on the river now.
My late husband lived in another part of Newcastle and said his father and other men of the area would all gather outside the local church at midnight on NYE to hear the clock strike twelve then they would make their way home, calling in at various houses where a glass of whiskey would be poured out.
They then would stagger back to their own houses where the women had been enjoying their NYE

Hogmanay was a big celebration when I was growing up - black bun, first footer, parties, bagpipes at the town cross, etc. There was always a big open house at my uncle's. My late husband, who was home counties born and bred, thought it was wonderful. In thecpast few years, especially since being widowed, I am tucked up in bed long before the bells. Still do my cleaning on the 31st though!

Knittingnovice. I AM very superstitious on New Year's Day. I would NEVER do any washing. I always remember seeing my late Aunt's washing on the line, and she died that year! Coincidence..............who knows!

Thanks, paddyann54 and Maggiemaybe for your posts. I enjoyed reading about the old customs.

From a child it was always the first footing where they had to go out of the back door and come in the front to let in the new year, so had to go out just before the midnight and wait for the chimes to knock and be let in. Yes piece of coal, a shilling - that has been round and round over the years- a piece of bread and some whisky to toast the new year. I still all these many years later like to be sure that I have paid all the bills - well obviously not your mortgage or whatever but things like the groceries and the paper bill. When the milk used to be delivered if it wasnt the day for the milkman to call for the money I would put it out ready for him so that I was all square as far as I could be. So still try to be up to date on any bills, the washing is done so starting clean and more importantly think back to any cross words or any sort of disagreements and try to make up and apologise where necessary. I still look at these things as I feel it is a good way to begin a year ready to face whatever comes. Then what is not a previous pattern but I also try and check all sorts of financial things at the beginning of the year. checking what you are paying out and checking if you still need that specific item as I think it is easy to forget things like this

When I was about 10, my mother told me that it was bad luck to cry on New Years Day. I remember that I was crying about something when she said it. So, to this day, I try not to let anything trouble me on New Years Day.

I'm in mid to North Northumberland btw....

Georgesgran ah! but did they go into their own houses? Everyone went first footing fifty years ago and the women laid on huge buffets of home baking, sandwiches and drinks.

From Durham and I can remember all the men standing in the street with coal and whisky ready to first foot at midnight.

And we are in the north east but I’ve never heard that before. ( he’s also just won £100 on a premium bond ! )

DH sent out the back door with fuel( a twig) and whiskey and bread. He rings the front door when the cathedral bells have chimed. We share the bread a kiss and the whiskey. The twig is symbolic as we have gas. . I like not washing on NY D. And too many friends and family teetering on the brink.

I'd understood that here in the North East it's bad luck to be your own first foot but my North West family never made much of New Years Eve so I'm unmoved by the whole thing. It used to annoy my husband no end that I didn't care if we went out or not.

kittylester

My nan said doing any washing on New Year's Day was really bad luck. I don't believe in those old superstitions but I never do any washing - just to be on the safe side.

Same here.

Haven’t heard of many of these things but I’m not superstitious and wouldn’t stick to them if I had!

It was tradition to do no housework and washing between Christmas and New Year.
This had been started to give women a break from the grueling work.
It's very outdated now and I don't think anyone really does this anymore especially as houses are super cleaned as everyone is expecting company.

Brought up in Scotland I know all the traditions for Hogmanay but apart from eating steak and kidney pie on Ne'erday I don't know of any connected to New Year's Day.

In Denmark too, some families hold that the house should be clean and tidy, the laundry done, dried, ironed and put away before midnight on New year's Eve.

A long time ago, there was a superstition that said that whatever you did on New Year's day would be repeated frequently in the course of the year.

As New Year's day has been a public holiday for the last couple of hundred years, no-one bothers about that superstition any more, but I would never dream of doing the washing on New Year's day, as there isn't any needing to be done.

The old superstition doesn't work, I know for a fact, because I always listen to the New Year's concert from Vienna, and much as I would love to, I have never heard Wiener Philhormoniker every day of any year!

I am not superstitious but my dear mum would never wash on NYD she said if you wash on NYD you will wash someone out of the family! I have stuck with her wishes and even my DD doesn't wash.

The mantra was that only things should come into the house on NYD. To that end, ashes raked out before midnight. No rubbish to be thrown out.

We've never done first footing with money or bread though- just coal.