Monday the 13th of July was ‘Auld Handsel Monday,’ Scotland’s forgotten New Year celebration, unless you are from Foula, a remote island about 20 miles west of Shetland that still follows the Julian calendar.
Back in 1752, the rest of the UK adopted the Gregorian calendar, and in that year, the decision was made to remove 11 days from September. Interestingly, many Scots continued to calculate dates using the old system—by simply adding 11 days.
In some rural areas and small towns, this tradition persisted and became known as ‘Auld Handsel Monday.’ It fell on the first Monday after January 12th and remained a significant day for countryfolk well into the 19th century.
Unlike the modern New Year’s Day, which is fixed to January 1st, the Scots fixed it to a specific day of the week (Monday). Due to the strict adherence to the Sabbath, they didn’t want celebrations cancelled every seventh year when it fell on a Sunday.
So, ‘Auld Handsel Day’ was settled as the first Monday after January 12th. However, over time, some folk simplified it to the first Monday after New Year’s Day, which is sometimes referred to as ‘New Handsel Monday.’ This would have been last Monday, January 6th. An abacus and paracetamol might be helpful to get you through this post!
The ‘Handsel Monday’ celebrations were very similar to what we recognise today as Hogmanay, with ‘first footing’ and partying. However, in the past, it was also a day marked by acts of kindness, such as giving presents or giving your servants or household staff the day off.
I came across this article in the Dunfermline press 17/1/1861:
“Auld Hansel Monday was ushered in with the glare of flambeaux and the blare of horns, in the preparation of which the youth of the city had been engaged for a week previous. From an early hour in the morning the streets were paraded by parties of young men “first-footing,” which, by the way, seems misnomer, now that the holiday is observed a fortnight after New Year’s Day has passed”
Regardless of whether your preferred calendar is Julian or Gregorian the Heritage Team hope you have a great new year, and we would also like to thank you for taking the time to read our posts.
Credits:
Eric Simpson for support in the research
British Newspaper Archive / Dunfermline Press for the article from 1861