First Footing

[Johnny39]

book wrote: “It’s ten weary years since I left England’s shore,For a distant far country to roam,How I long to return to my own native land,To my friends and the old folks at home.Last night as I slumbered I had a strange dream,A dream that brought distant lands near,I dreamt of old England, the land of my birth,The heart of her sons ever dear.I saw the old homestead and faces I knewI saw Englands valleys and dellsAnd I listened with joy as I did when a boyTo the sound of the old village bellsThe stars were shining brightlytwas the night your poor granny fell illAll the bells were ringing the old year outAnd the new year in.While the joyous bells rang as I wended my way,To the house where I lived as a boy,I passed by the window and there sat by the fire,Were my parents, my heart filled with joy.The log burnt so brightly it was keeping them warm,On a night that could banish all sin,And the bells they were ringing, the old year out,And the new year in.At the door of the house there we stood face to face,For the first time in ten weary years,Soon the past was forgot, and we stood hand in hand,Father, mother and wanderer in tears.And the log burnt so brightly, it was keeping us warm,On a night that would banish all sin,And the bells they were ringing, the old year out,And the new year in.And the bells they were ringing, the old year out,And the new year in.     That's the one Book but it was usually restricted to the second verse and I'm not too sure about the Granny falling ill line.

[Jogon]

blackprince wrote: Leeds in the 1950's. Being fairly tall & dark haired I was asked to "first foot" a few neighbours houses after midnight carrying a lump of coal....Anyone else remember the custom of first footing in Leeds and has the it continued to the present day?Happy 2013 to all.     YupMe too

[smithson172]

I remember my parents and other relatives doing this in the late 70's but never knew the reason until today.... Thank you, its true, you learn something new every day!

[Leodian]

I'ts interesting that at least some First Footing locally seems to have gone on longer than I thought as I recall it in the 1950s (a piece of coal also seems familiar) but not from the 1960s. I would guess that very few (if any) people locally still do First Footing.Mind you one custom that (as far as I know) did end long ago was that of children dressing up in their best clothes at Whitsuntide and going to neighbours and getting a few old pennies! Gentler and safer times.

[Steve Jones]

I know from experience that a lot of customs supposed to be dead still continue amongst families and unless they happen to be mentioned in places like this or to visitors,people don't know about it.i remember back in the 1990's visiting a man in Ossett about Ossett Spa Well and the fact he had dug a well in his own garden which had tapped into the same water (Wakefield Council later made him fill it in as he hadn't asked their permission!).In the course of our conversations he told me his family used a "Wessle Cup" every Xmas to drink from.I couldn't make out what he meant at first until on thinking about dialect I said to him "Do you mean a WASSAIL CUP?to which he replied that was what he had been saying and produced a cup made of apple wood with a silver rim handed down in his family for generations!Now wassailing was supposed to have died out in the area around the 1860's but here it was still happening complete with an original cup!

[Caron]

As I mentioned earlier, I grew up with the New Years Eve tradition of First Footing and still do it myself.I'm not sure it's just a northern custom though as I now live in Dorset and my 70yr old neighbour, (who is Dorset born and bred), asked my son in law to let in her new year complete with her piece of coal and 50p.I well remember Whit Sunday too. My sister and I were always bought a new dress and neighbours would give us a few pennies. We never asked for money, it was just given to us.    

[Leodian]

Steve Jones wrote: I know from experience that a lot of customs supposed to be dead still continue amongst families and unless they happen to be mentioned in places like this or to visitors,people don't know about it.i remember back in the 1990's visiting a man in Ossett about Ossett Spa Well and the fact he had dug a well in his own garden which had tapped into the same water (Wakefield Council later made him fill it in as he hadn't asked their permission!).In the course of our conversations he told me his family used a "Wessle Cup" every Xmas to drink from.I couldn't make out what he meant at first until on thinking about dialect I said to him "Do you mean a WASSAIL CUP?to which he replied that was what he had been saying and produced a cup made of apple wood with a silver rim handed down in his family for generations!Now wassailing was supposed to have died out in the area around the 1860's but here it was still happening complete with an original cup! I still call the bright fragile decoration balls/baubles placed on a Christmas tree 'Wesley Bobs'. I'm not sure if that is the right spelling but it's how I heard them seemingly so called when I was a child in the 1940s to early 1950s. I feel a nostalgic need for some National Health Dried Milk.

[johnnyg]

My son, as the only dark-haired offspring in the family, first-foots for his gran, my mother-in-law. As we have an open-fire he always has coal with him as well. She follows it as a tradition from her upbringing in Ireland.

[dogduke]

We moved from an old back to back in the early sixtiesto an all electric flat,no gas or coal.We had a small piece of coal that was kept in a draw and wasbrought out to do its duty on News Years Eve.My mother has since moved house but I wouldn't be surprisedif it was still in the top draw of her side board.