Apart from singing Auld Lang’s Syne as we embarked on 2015, a few minutes after midnight, we didn’t follow any New Year’s Day customs… and I’m not sure that many people do any more in England.
It used to be that a dark-haired man had to enter the house, the first to step over the threshold of the New year… so when I was young, our neighbour from next door, black-haired Uncle Peter was always sent out to come back in again, and he would come in carrying a lump of coal. I’m not sure whether he also had some salt with him, but I know that was also a custom. My dad would delight in giving him a whisky to drink the new year’s health! Then people would go round the neighbourhood, first-footing… where we lived it was just to the immediate neighbours, knocking on doors and going in for a drink and maybe a bite to eat, a sausage roll maybe or a mince-pie and then go on to visit some more! I also know that some first footers would take a piece of bread as well, but I never remember that happening at home! As my husband used to have very dark hair we count him as being the dark-haired man, and when we get home from the pub in the early hours of January 1st, he takes the first step into the house… so good luck for us!
Lois Elsden 