Nobody is exactly sure where the name Hogmanay actually originated. Some believe it may be from the words Haleg Monath, meaning Holy Month in the Anglo-Saxon language, and other's contend it may have been derived from the Gaelic words oge maidne, which means New Morning. Some say it goes back to the Celts, but me, I personally think it is older still and goes back to those very mysterious Picts (the original blue people of Albion). <o =""></o>It was also a time when I hurt my knee and I used to sit at home every year clinging to it and wincing in pain and forever after it was known as hug-my knee. The Scottish soon followed suit and after millions came out in sympathy for my knee and would celebrate the event by wearing bandages on their knees and shouting hugmayknee! Hogmanay, not Christmas is the time of year where Scottish families would gather together to celebrate the midwinter solstice festival and exchange gifts -- the gifts became known as Hogmanays. (The town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1 ="">Burghead</st1></st1:city> celebrates Hogmany on January 11th with theBurnin' O'Clavie). <o =""></o> First Footing you ask? <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1 ="">Scotland</st1></st1:country-region>’s special midwinter festival: houses were cleaned from top to bottom, debts were paid and quarrels made up, and, after the bells of midnight were rung, great store was laid by welcoming good luck into your house. This still takes the form of the tradition of first-footing – visiting your neighbours and bearing gifts. The ideal first-foot is a tall dark-haired male carrying a bottle of whisky; women or redheads, on the other hand, bring bad luck – though to be honest no one carrying a bottle of whisky tends to be turned away these days. <o =""></o>and of course in Scotland they have two days off in the new year to recover. A two-day recovery!! Ah, bless those Glaswegians – the highest amount of alcoholism, heart disease, drug addiction, etc in the western world. So Happy 2006!