Force-fire was a Scottish folklore tradition believed to have the ability to rid houses of evil spirits.

Force-fire was a relatively common folklore activity in Scotland up until the 19th century, or the Highland Clearances to be precise. Believers of the force-fire said that it was a viable and effective treatment to the plague on humans, diseases in cattle, murrain and bewitching. Needles to say, there is no scientific evidence supporting the practice of the force-fire.

The procedure of the force-fire varied by region, but the general element remained constant. When a community deemed it necessary to perform a force, all the fires in that area were extinguished on a set day. Following this, a new fire was relit and distributed to all those affected by the ailment of the community, be it disease or witchcraft. Anecdotally, this was met with great success and the appropriate households were soon rid of their problems.

The method by which a force-fire was started is the biggest difference between any sets of practioning areas. Some documented cases record that a group of 81 men would be scheduled into shifts to rub two large pieces of wood together, subsequently, the friction of the activity would eventually light the wood on fire. Other regions use a spinning wheel would be spun and fed with kindling, until the spindle caught on fire. In each case more wood would be lit and the fire distributed to households.
The last recorded cases of force-fire were in 1829 in North Uist and 1830 in Reay.

Tartan Day is a celebration of the Scottish culture and ancestry of many North Americans.

With Scotland’s strong ties to North American settlement and the bond that many hold towards their Scottish heritage, it is unsurprising that a day would be held to celebrate the links that many North Americans hold to Scotland.

Currently, Tartan Day is held on the 6th of April of every year, the same date as the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. Predominantly, celebrations are held in the biggest cities of North America. Recent events saw celebrities like Sean Connery attend celebrations in Washington D.C. and the sword of William Wallace leave Scotland for the first time in over seven hundred years, to be displayed in New York at the 2005 celebration.

In Canada, Tartan Day has been held on the 6th of April since 1986, when it was promoted by the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia. In the United States of America Tartan Day has been celebrated since 1998. Previous to this Tartan Day was held as a one-time event, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Repeal of the Act of Proscription of 1747.

Flower of Scotland is regarded by many as the unofficial Scottish national anthem.

For many, Flower of Scotland is the answer to the lack of an official Scottish national anthem. In fact a recent poll by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra showed that it is Scotland’s preferred national anthem candidate, leading at 41% of votes, against its closest competitor, Scotland the Brave at 29%. The popularity of Flower of Scotland stretches even further, the song is sung in all instances by the Scottish national rugby union team and its fan’s.

There are many debates and views on Flower of Scotland and its competing Scottish national anthem nominees. The predominant arguments for the use of Flower of Scotland include its strong ties to Scottish history (as it is based on the Battle of Bannockburn) and it makes no mention of “God save the Queen”, making it more appropriate for Scottish and English sports exhibitions. On a negative note though, Flower of Scotland is reputedly a more advanced song to perform on bagpipes due to its use of the flat seventh note.
The current lyrics of Flowers of Scotland are:

O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see,
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
The hills are bare now,
And autum leaves lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
Those days are past now,
And in the past
They must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of the last day of the year.

Technically Hogmanay is the equivalent of the Scottish celebration of New Year, although putting it in such plain terms is certainly unfair to the event. In an interesting paradox, Hogmanay has become more a more unified celebration of the approaching year then its equivalent elsewhere, but it has achieved this by its un-unified customs and traditions that are localized to areas and even towns.

Hogmany is thought to stem from the Norse celebration of Winter Solstice and the Gaeilic celebration of Samhain. A number of other celebrations of the same time contributed to shape Hogmanay, as the celebration of the Winter Solstice is almost universal.
As I said earlier, Hogmany is unique due to its varying traditions, although there are some which are practiced throughout the country. One of these is the tradition of “first-footing”, which involves the first person to cross the threshold of their friend’s house after midnight giving them a symbolic gift. Originally this gift could have been salt, although this is no longer common, and a bigger gift like a piece of Scottish heirloom jewelry would be a more likely sight.

More regionalized traditions of Hogmanay vary greatly from one area to another. As an example Stonehaven in Kincardineshire has a tradition of constructing balls made out of flammable materials and featuring them in a parade which starts at the stroke of midnight. Some small fishing villages base their first-footing gifts around the local produce, normally in the form of a decorated hearing. While metropolitan areas of Scotland, like Edinburgh are said to lean more to the heavy consumption of alcohol and signing for their Hogmanay merriment.

Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish poem, often sung at New Year’s celebrations.

Auld Lang Syne is a product of one of the most popular poets in the world, Robert Burns. In the present day it can be heard amongst many revellers celebrating New Year’s around the world, Hogmanay in Scotland or Burn’s Supper. Interestingly enough it is actually used a graduation song in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the graduation ceremonies of the Indian and Pakistani armed forces. The popularity of the song has extracted it so far from its roots that many no longer recognise it as a true Scottish heirloom given to the world by one of the world’s best known Scots.

The lyrics to Auld Lang Syne were written in the latter half of the 1700s and forwarded to the Scottish Musical Museum. At the time he claimed that he did not if fact create the lyrics as they were part of a traditional Scottish folk song, although as it was the fashion at the time to claim such antiquity, most people cast doubt on such a claim.

As Auld Lang Syne was written over 200 years ago and had enjoyed popularity from that point it is only natural for it to have evolved with the spoken language of the region it is sung in. In fact, Auld Lang Syne as sung today has a number of differences, although these are mostly due to differing pronunciation.

These are the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne as sung today:

Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And days of long ago!

Chorus:

For times gone by, my dear
For times gone by,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
For times gone by.

We two have run about the hillsides
And pulled the daisies fine,
But we have wandered many a weary foot
For times gone by.

We two have paddled (waded) in the stream
From noon until dinner time,
But seas between us broad have roared
Since times gone by.

And there is a hand, my trusty friend,
And give us a hand of yours,
And we will take a goodwill drink (of ale)
For times gone by!

And surely you will pay for your pint,
And surely I will pay for mine!
And we will take a cup of kindness yet
For times gone by!