Hogmanay Rebels

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 All advance (2) Retire (2) Couples facing clockwise dance between facing couple, turning them with nearer hands back to place
9-16 Couples facing clockwise join 2H and slip step between facing couple (4 bars) and slip step back to place
17-32 Repeat bars 1-16 with anticlockwise couples as dancing couple
33-40 All set, pass opposite person LSh to meet new couples and all circle 4H round to Left

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Hogmanay Rebels - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

After the celebrations at midnight, people often continue to celebrate on the morning of New Year's Day. In some cases, the term "Hogmanay" is used more broadly to talk about the whole time that includes the last few days of the old year and the first few days of the new year.

The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, but it may be derived from Norse and Gaelic observances of the winter solstice. Customs vary throughout Scotland and usually include gift-giving and visiting the homes of friends and neighbours, with particular attention given to the first-foot, the first guest of the new year.

In Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, which is in northeast Scotland, there's a special tradition during Hogmanay. People create big balls using chicken wire and fill them with old newspapers, sticks, rags, and other flammable stuff. These balls can be up to 2 feet in diameter and are attached to about 3 feet of wire, chain, or non-flammable rope.

When the bell in the Old Town House rings to signal the new year, they light up these balls. Then, people swing the burning balls around as they walk from the Mercat Cross to the Cannon and back along the High Street.

Hogmanay Rebels - Underage Drinking And Driving?
Happy New Year, Postcard, c. 1910

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