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First-Foot
 
 
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In British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 folklore
Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
, the first-foot, also known in Manx Gaelic as quaaltagh or qualtagh, is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year's Day
New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome ....
 and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year.

Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at the stroke of midnight in order to first-foot (thus going out of the house after midnight and then coming back in to the same house is not considered to be first-footing).






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Encyclopedia


In British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 folklore
Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
, the first-foot, also known in Manx Gaelic as quaaltagh or qualtagh, is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year's Day
New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome ....
 and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year.

Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at the stroke of midnight in order to first-foot (thus going out of the house after midnight and then coming back in to the same house is not considered to be first-footing). The first-foot is traditionally a tall, dark-haired male; a female or fair-haired male are in some places regarded as unlucky. In Worcestershire
Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a county located in the West Midlands of central England. From 1974 to 1998 it was administered as part of Hereford and Worcester....
, luck is ensured by stopping the first carol-singer who appears and leading him through the house. In Yorkshire
Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a Historic counties of England of northern England and the largest in Great Britain. Because of its great size, over time functions were increasingly undertaken by its subdivisions, which have been subject to History of local government in Yorkshire....
 it must always be a male who enters the house first, but his fairness is no objection.

The first-foot usually brings several gifts, including perhaps a coin, bread, salt, coal, or a drink (usually whisky
Whisky

Whisky or whiskey refers to a broad category of Distilled beverages that are distilled from Fermentation grain Mashing and aged in wooden casks ....
), which respectively represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer. In Scotland, first-footing has traditionally been more elaborate than in England, and involving subsequent entertainment.

In a similar Greek
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 tradition, it is believed that the first person to enter the house on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is on , the final day of the Gregorian calendar year, and the day before New Year's Day.New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day....
 brings either good luck or bad luck. Many households to this day keep this tradition and specially select who enters first into the house. After the first-foot, also called "podariko" (from the root pod-, or foot), the lady of the house serves the guests with Christmas
Christmas

Christmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts Twelve Days of Christmas....
 treats or gives them an amount of money to ensure that good luck will come in the New Year.

See also

  • house blessing


External links

  • from PR Newswire
    PR Newswire

    PR Newswire started out in 1954 as a vendor hired by companies and agencies to send out text press releases to the media. Today, PR Newswire is hired by corporations, PR firms and NGOs to deliver news and multimedia content....