What are the first footing rules?
 

Is it lucky or unlucky for a red headed man to enter your house first on new years?

These days I'd be glad for any man to enter my house on New Year's Eve, red headed or not!!!!! ;-)

Subject to anything Sheila has to say, I believe they should be tall, dark and handsome (rules me out, but they say that after a drink or two anyone's tall, dark and handsome, and after a few more you'll see two of them, too). A lump of coal is involved somewhere (I think it's supposed to bring good luck - my dear late father tried this on with my Christmas stocking one year, but I was not impressed when I tried to eat it in the early hours of Christmas morning).

http://www.new-year.co.uk/firstfoot.html
http://www.scotlandsmusic.com/Hogmanay.htm

The tall dark handsome guy was Lucky for me ((L)) lol...
Poor Patrick, what our parents try to con us with :)

<b>LOL </b>
&quot;They have to be male, tall, dark and handsome. They cannot be doctors, ministers or grave-diggers (!) - oh, and your first footer cannot have eyebrows that meet in the middle! ....&quot;

Scarlett, I wish you hadn't done that research! Now I discover that I only meet seven of those eight criteria!!!

Anselm

My thoughts exactly, Tallulah! :)

....if I drink enough a lump of coal will probably look tall dark and handsome.....

yes, coal does come into it somewhere...

I loved Hogmanay and first footing as a child because it meant I got to stay up late and greet the first footers after midnight. We had one man in our village who qualified as tall, dark and handsome (well somewhat handsome as I recall) and he must have first footed at almost every house.

Another first for me, pamettoprincess! Never heard about red-headed man. Also, just heard that one should say &quot;rabbit rabbit rabbit&quot; as first words spoken each month!
Also, eat black-eyed peas Jan 1.

It is LUCKY for a dark haired man to be the first one entering the household (handsome and tall are nice extras) bringing with him a lump of coal (for the fire), usually shortbread to eat and possibly a bottle (of the good stuff). It would be lucky and bring priosperity into the home (ensuring enough food, drink and warmth for the whole New Year).
My Mum would make my Dad go out the back door and in the front door before me or the 'wrong' sibling made the mistake of letting ourselves in and ruining the luck - no matter what we were carrying (usually a friend).
Gawd I could murder a curry just thinking of Hogmanay!
HAPPY HOGMANAY EVERYONE!

Blimey, I have always hated Hogmanay--the cold, the damp, the Scots blokes taking a slash in the streets and soaking my Ferragamo loafers, wanting to go to bed with a bottle of gin but having to stay up for that first foot. No! Give me beach in Brazil and a mohito for New Year's Eve, darling.

LOL, Balenciaga, chin chin darlin! ((D))

My mother's family always said &quot;rabbits&quot; on the first day of the month, and I was just about to try and look it up (to see if they were merely mad), when I saw Donco's comment. Whaddayaknow!

I also can remember hearing rabbits, rabbits, rabbits but began to think I must be mad and heard it wrong. So kept that little bit of information to myself all these years. Now I see Donco's post.

Patrick please do look it up and tell us the story behind this and why we are not completely potty.

Thanks.
Sandy

unlucky Anselm..I got them all !!

be right over Tallulah !

;-)

Muck

Muck, I just got sacked from my grave-digging job, so now I'm in on all counts.

Happy New Year to all.

Anselm

Rabbits and so on: A quick Google turns up a number of discussions. There doesn't seem to be anything in Brewer's. A couple of references mention inverting the language to drive out bad luck and bring in good - saying &quot;black rabbits&quot; as the last thing in the old year

Rabbits and so on: A quick Google turns up a number of discussions. There doesn't seem to be anything in Brewer's. A couple of references mention inverting the language to drive out bad luck and bring in good - saying &quot;black rabbits&quot; as the last thing in the old year and &quot;white rabbits&quot; as the first thing in the new year, or vice versa, or before going to bed and on rising at the start of a new month, and so on. I've seen one rather speculative attempt to claim that the 'rabbits' derives from a Hebrew word, but it's hardly likely that would creep into old English folk superstition and not (apparently) into any other language. I suppose it's a faint echo of some old magical incantation.

Mucky - am ready and waiting!!! ;-) ;-)