As the first custom of the Scottish New Year straddles the last
day of the old and the first of the new, a catalogue of Scottish
calendar customs would sit uneasily on the current twelve-month
(Gregorian or 'New Style') calendar, January 1 to December 31. Instead,
Scottish calendar customs reflect the Celtic Calendar, which mirrors
the cycle of the seasons and of life - planting to harvest, birth
to death, re-birth, and renewal.
The Celtic Year was divided into two halves: the dormant, dark
winter half, and the vibrant, bright summer half, then divided
again producing four Quarter Days that marked the seasons. As
darkness was believed to precede light, so the year began with
the dark half at Samhainn, the eve of November 1, that is, October
31st, commonly known as Hallowe'en. The second Quarter Day, February
1st (O.S. or 13th New Style), was dedicated to Brigit, the Celtic
goddess of the Spring, then, from about the sixth century onwards,
to St. Bride whose feast day, Latha Féill' Brighde, is
traditionally regarded as the first day of spring. There is no
evidence that Imbolc, the equivalent term in Old Irish, was ever
part of Scottish Gaelic. The third Quarter Day, May first, (or
13th N.S) Beltane, Bealltainn, (Latha buidhe bealltainn), marked
the beginning of summer, and the fourth, August 1st, (or 12th
O.S) Lammas, Latha Lunasdal, heralded the start of the harvesting
season.
In accordance with the policy of the early Christian church, festive
days were retained and invested with a new significance on the Christian
calendar. Thus, Hallowe'en appears as 'All Saints Day', November
first, celebrating the souls of the departed, adjoining November
2nd, 'All Souls Day'. St. Bride's Day extends to February 2nd, observed
as Candlemas, commemorating the Feast of the Purification of the
Virgin Mary. Close to Beltane, a day dedicated to the 'Invention
of the Holy Cross' was fixed on May 3, and Lammas, formerly connected
to the Celtic goddess, Lugh, was transplanted into the church calendar
as Loaf Mass Day, the day of the first fruit of harvest, a loaf
of bread, was given to the priest. The requirements of the church
need not conflict with the ancient spirituality of the Celtic calendar
or vice versa. Both systems have co-existed for fifteen centuries,
with prayers of supplication offered at every stage of the traditional
customs.
On the first day of every quarter (a h-uile latha ceann ràithe)
animals, land, crops, people and abodes had to be sained, (protected
against evil), especially against witches, fairies and other-world
beings believed to be abroad on these nights. Lighting a bonfire,
carrying fire-brands around an area or subject, tying sprigs
of rowan (the sacred tree) or holly over door-posts and lintels
of house, barn, byre or stable, were all common practice, as
was sprinkling the theshold (point of entry) with salt or urine
to ward off evil.
[Margaret Bennett, SCOTTISH CALENDAR CUSTOMS, in The Oxford Book
of Scottish History, (ed. M. Lynch, 2001)]
