we have done first-footing since I was a little girl… for us, it meant that just before midnight on New Year’s Eve my dad, who had dark hair, would jump in the car and drive around to all our aunts and uncles and grandparents’ houses and take them an offering – it always included coal, bread and sometimes oranges and a little drink of something… I also remember how my dad would have to search out new coal every year because no one ever kept it from year to year, lol…

from Dalhousie Castle:

“Stemming back to the time of the invading Vikings in the 8^th and 9^thcentury, it is believed that the first person to enter a house, the “first foot”, can bring luck – or misfortune – for the year ahead. In Scottish tradition good luck comes in the form of a tall, dark-haired man being the first footer.” Dec 7, 2020

I spent time this morning looking back at some of the different ways it has happened for me…

my daughter being the first female to cross the threshold first when she was here in 2017…

my middle grandson taking home a bag and making sure to bring it and be the first one to cross my threshold…

my daughter arranging for friends to come by with a box of items she had sent to them…

while visiting the kids in Ottawa, having a diamond necklace in the bag because there wasn’t any coal, lol… and I did have to give it back🤪…

this morning I went out the back door in my housecoat, walked around to the front door, and first-footed myself…

those big girl pants 😂…