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About 500 yards up the road from me, 500,000 people will flood onto Prince's Street for the traditional street party (yeh - Scotland; December; it's pretty damn cold!), which usually involves copious amounts of alcohol, snogging loads of random people at midnight and watching the fireworks before you run out of alcohol and realise it's pretty stupid to be outside at this time of year at that time of night.
Personally, I'm giving that a miss this year in favour of paying stupid prices to get into a crap club that's going to go on and charge me ridiculous prices for drinks (having just previously confiscated any alcohol I tried to smuggle in).
But by all that - I wouldn't trade it for the world (had a New Year in Spain once - wasn't the same...).
In Scotland, the first person in your house after midnight is known as your "first foot" and traditional requires they give you a gift for good luck (usually booze or biscuits for some reason!). Not as common in big cities these days though (it's usually just friends and families that make a point of visiting each other - not just random people).
Scotland's a fantastic place at New Year - if you ever get the chance to visit at this time of year, you should come for the experience - absolutely everyone becomes your best friend for the night! :)
So what does everyone else have planned for Hogmany? :)
MG
Private jet service comes in handy for these type of things :)
[edited by: bobothecat at 6:41 pm (utc) on Dec. 28, 2005]
I spent new year in Madeira two years ago and it was great. They have one of the best firework displays in the world at the "bells".
(For those non-Scots reading this, we tend to refer to midnight 0n 31/12 as "the bells" because all the churches bells are rung then).
I spent new year in Madeira two years ago and it was great. They have one of the best firework displays in the world at the "bells".
My brother and family go there almost every year, and they say it is an awesome New Year's Eve.
I never been myself, though :(
Are you from the New Bedford area? I remember being there a few years ago and there was a large population of Portuguese/Madeira people there. I understand that it goes back to the days of the whaling industry. I also ate one of the best meals I ever had in the US while there, in a small Portuguese restaurant.
I was in Madeira last week for xmas but it was not as good as new year although their xmas lights are pretty spectacular too.
Are you from the New Bedford area?
I am 40 minutes away. I am closer to Rhode Island, which has many Portuguese people, and good Portuguese restaurants also.
Glad you like the country and the food :)
Lots of food, booze and dancin' music.
One of my favourite songs for New Years Parties is "Swamp thing" by the grid. Bear in mind I live in Mississippi - its quite appropriate.
When I lived in the UK we did the standing in the street thing at midnight singing auld lang syne and snogging. Its actually quite funny watching girls in (min skirts and tiny tops) standing in freezing rain and ice kept warm only by the gallons of alcohol in their bloodtstream.
