GBMD: A Poem for Hogmanay


Great good luck to the house,
Good luck to the family,
Good luck to every rafter of it,
And to every worldly thing in it.
Good luck to horses and cattle,
Good luck to the sheep,
Good luck to everything,
And good luck to all of your means.
Luck to the good-wife,
Good luck to the children,
Good luck to every friend,
Great fortune and health to all.

Extracted from The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, by Ann Ross.

In Scotland, the last day of the year or Hogmanay has been a more important festival than Christmas for many centuries; indeed it wasn't until 1974, when the rest of the UK also adopted January 1st as a Bank Holiday that Scotland took Boxing Day as one of theirs.

Everyone is familiar with Robert Burns' Auld Lang Syne as the song to sing when the clock strikes midnight, but I rather like the sentiment of the poem I've chosen for today.

You can find out more about Scotland's first footing traditions, which is where this poem forms a central part of the celebrations at Woolgathering and Widdershins.

I wish you, your family and your garden good health and fortune for 2011.

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day is hosted by Carolyn Choi at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.

Comments

  1. fer1 January 2011 at 09:15

    Very nice poem. I wish you have a very happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1 January 2011 at 11:23

    What a wonderful sentiment, dear VP! Good luck to you and yours, and us all!
    xxxooo
    Frances

    ReplyDelete
  3. Helen1 January 2011 at 16:14

    VP, Seems like an ideal way to begin a year, and I'm not the least bit superstitious. By the way, I just noticed that this year is Lucky 11!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hermes2 January 2011 at 11:23

    Have a good 2011.
    Great poem.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Janet/Plantaliscious2 January 2011 at 14:53

    Happy New Year VP, the poem made me feel nostalgic for the time I spent living in Edinburgh, where I first heard it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Esther Montgomery2 January 2011 at 21:47

    When I was working in a factory in Edinburgh in the mid seventies, people were still a bit sniffy about celebrating Christmas at all.

    Happy New Year, VP.

    Esther

    ReplyDelete
  7. The bike shed2 January 2011 at 23:09

    And a happy New Year to you too VP

    See you soon for that coffee, I hope

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anna3 January 2011 at 10:01

    A delightful poem to welcome a new year in. Had not come across it before and enjoyed it so thanks. Wishing you all the best in 2011 VP ! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. HappyMouffetard3 January 2011 at 13:58

    Good luck and good fortune to you and yours in 2011, VP!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nutty Gnome3 January 2011 at 14:48

    What a lovely poem VP. We sang Auld Lang Syne (well, the adults did, the teenagers mumbled the odd bits they knew!) and had a really lovely party!

    Thank you for all your amusing, informative and wonderful posts - I hope there are many more to come!

    Happy 2011 to you and yours:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gail3 January 2011 at 17:05

    Happy, happy New year to you my dear! I, too, dream of seeing you again! xxxooogail

    ReplyDelete
  12. VP5 January 2011 at 08:41

    Thanks for you New Year's wishes everyone - I'll be over to your blogs soon to say hello :)

    ReplyDelete

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