New years day superstitions

I took the Christmas tree down, did the washing, changed the bedding and went for a swim because by then I was drenched in perspiration. It’s hot here now, a bit too hot. Early for taking the tree down but we are going down the beach for a couple of weeks and I didn’t want to come back to it. Seeing as how the
Christmas cards are still rolling in I left those up.

We let the new year in with
bread 🍞,
coal 🪨,
a candle 🕯
and a nice single malt 🥃.

The coal has been the same piece for many years (40+) and lives under the stairs wrapped in tinfoil.... obviously the whisky hasn't been stored that long!

Like some upthread we bring the new year into every room.
We used to have neighbours who would 1st foot with us. Sadly no longer.

Lovely NotSpag. This year we were singing and dancing but they didn’t even have Auld Lang Syne. A lot of us missed it. Sweet Caroline aint quite the same !

Thanks everybody. It felt good to clean and sort out cupboards, so I'm holding onto that instead of the superstition.

We always followed my mum’s nye - coal, bread, coppers in hand. Go out the back door 5 mins before midnight, kicking the old year out with you. Round to the front door, knock at midnight, take in your gifts to symbolise having all you need for the new year. Everyone has a whisky. We are in the north west. It’s a common tradition here.

Today I’m going to start taking the decorations down. Looking forward to a bit of a clean up.

Knittingnovice I've just realised this isn't a "superstition" in my house - never was. It's a happily passed on jolly ritual marking time.

It feels more like singing "happy birthday" than greeting magpies or not opening an umbrella in the house.

I suppose it may fall into the superstition category but it's not like any others I know.

I didn't do any washing yesterday, left it for today. It was very nice having a whole day with nothing on my to-do list.
I'm not superstitious, but it was a very good excuse

I’ve heard of first-footing and do remember it happening at parents’ NYE parties in the 60s (nowhere near Scotland!) but I’d never heard of any of the others, and my folks were born in 1916 and 1918, so you’d think they might have adhered to some old superstitions.

Always let the New Year in first going out the back door n coming in the front. I loved all the ships hooters sounding at New Years Eve on the Manchester Ship Canal. Many many years ago

Yes sent dark haired son out back & back in front with a piece of coal as first footer.But id never heard of the dont wash or take anything out thing and trust me my late mum would have told me that if it were a superstition she knew them all- it must a newer one that..i just hope it werent new years day when i did a few bits🤔🙄

t

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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