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Education
Do
you celebrate 31st December? In Scotland it is known as Hogmanay.
Read the article below about Hogmanay and try to answer the
questions.
This
is the Scots word for the celebration of the New Year. Its
official date is the 31st of December. This is normally only
the start of a celebration which lasts through the night until
the morning of the 1st or, in many cases, the 2nd of January.
There
are many customs, both national and local, associated with
Hogmanay. The most widespread national custom is the practice
of first-footing which starts immediately after midnight.
It involves being the first person to cross the entrance of
a friend's or neighbour's home and the giving of symbolic
gifts such as coal or shortbread, intended to bring different
kinds of luck to the householder. This can continue throughout
the early hours of the morning and well into the next day.
An example
of a local Hogmanay custom is the fireball swinging in Stonehaven,
north-east Scotland. This involves local people making up
balls of chicken wire, tar, paper and other flammable material
to a diameter of about a metre. Each ball has two metres of
wire, chain or non-flammable rope attached. The balls are
then each assigned to a swinger who swings the ball round
and round their head and body by the rope while walking through
the streets from the harbour to the Sheriff Court and back.
At the end of the ceremony any fireballs which are still burning
are cast into the harbour. Large crowds flock to the town
to enjoy this display which is more impressive in the dark
than it would be during the day.
Until
the 1960s, Hogmanay and Ne'erday (a contraction of "New
Year's Day" in Scots dialect, according to the OED) in
Scotland took the place of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
in the rest of the UK. Although Christmas Day held its normal
religious nature, the Church of Scotland had discouraged its
celebration for over 300 years. As a result Christmas Day
was a normal working day in Scotland until the 1960s and even
into the 1970s in some areas. The gift-giving, public holidays
and feasting associated with mid-winter were held between
the 31st of December and the 2nd of January rather than between
the 24th and 26th of December.
With the
fading of the Church's influence and the introduction of English
cultural values via television and immigration, the transition
to Christmas feasting was complete by the 1980s. However the
public holidays associated with Ne'erday and the day after
have remained despite the addition of Christmas Day to the
public holiday list. Hogmanay still is associated with as
much, or more, celebration as Christmas in Scotland. Most
Scots still celebrate Ne'erday with a special dinner, usually
roast lamb.
As in
the rest of the world, the four largest Scottish cities hold
all-night celebrations. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations
are among the largest in the world, though in 2003-4 most
of the organised events were cancelled at short notice due
to high winds. The celebrations have become an organised event,
with even an official website:
http://www.edinburghshogmanay.org/
The celebrations
planned for this year include a street party with music varying
from French hip hop to Jamaican reggae and ska. The evening
will also have a fireworks display, organised by the man responsible
for the Athens Olympic firework display. The scale of the
event is reflected in the fact that people from all over the
world are expected to attend.
Now
you've read the article, try to answer these questions to
check your understanding. Look back at the article to help
you find the answers. If you see any words you do not know,
look at the context first, if you are still having difficulty
check in your dictionary.
Can
you match the words from the text to their definitions?
1.
If you ........................... , you do something enjoyable
because of a special occasion or to mark someone's success.
2. If you say that something ........................... happens
or that you ........................... do a particular thing,
you mean that it is what usually happens or what you usually
do.
3. Something that is ........................... exists or
happens over a large area, or to a great extent.
4. A ........................... is an activity, a way of
behaving, or an event which is usual or traditional in a particular
society or in particular circumstances.
5. Something that is ........................... of a person
or thing is regarded or used as a symbol of them.
6. ........................... is a hard black substance that
is extracted from the ground and burned as fuel.
7. ........................... is a kind of biscuit made from
flour, sugar, and butter.
8. ........................... is a thick black sticky substance
that is used especially for making roads.
9. ........................... chemicals, gases, cloth, or
other things catch fire and burn easily.
10. In Scotland, a ........................... is a legal
officer whose chief duty is to act as judge in a ...........................'s
Court. These courts deal with all but the most serious crimes
and with most civil actions.
11. If people ........................... to a particular
place or event, a very large number of them go there, usually
because it is pleasant or interesting.
12. A ........................... is a day or time of the
year when a special religious celebration takes place.
13. ........................... is the process in which something
changes from one state to another.
How
do you celebrate New Year's Eve? If you don't celebrate it,
what is the equivalent special occasion for you? Try to think
how you would describe it to somebody. Write a short paragraph
describing the main features of the event. Are there any special
clothes? Food? Music? What do you like the most about it?
Show your paragraph to a friend and see if they agree with
you.
Answers
1. 31 December - 1 or 2 January, 2. first-footing, 3. Coalshortread,
4. Stonehaven, 5. 1 metre diameter, 6. Cast into harbour,
7. New Year's day, 8. television & immigration
9. roast lamb, 10. high winds
1-a, 2-g, 3-m, 4-c, 5-j, 6-b, 7-i, 8-k, 9-e, 10-h, 11-f, 12-d,
13-l
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(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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