Did the Scots invent New Year's Eve? Well, I'm sure not. It is true, though, that Hogmanay, the Celtic tradition in Scotland, has had a wide-ranging impact.   Don't we all sing or hum Auld Lang Syne. on New Year's Eve?

Christmas traditions are kept, of course, but the premier feast/family get-together, for a Scot, is definitely New Year's Eve.

It's a time of remembering and also a time of looking forward.

The guise of the old is removed (that means Christmas trees & decorations), the house is cleaned & made ready for the New Year, and food, drink, a fire in the hearth, & family & friends gathered are all in place...all together, & ready to go! Not a bad action statement.

The "first foot" is an important part of the festivities. A dark man, bearing a gift for the house, should be the first person to visit after the New Year is counted in.

Then, it's music, & stories, & dances, & memories, & a questing forward into the new, with enthusiasm...didn't the Scottish bard, Robert Burns, say it best with his poem, Auld Lang Syne?

Yes...light & action...dancing forward, with memory as a partner. Sounds like an event to me....

New Year's Eve awaits.