Experience the Scottish New Year tradition of First Footin’ at Rural Hill on Sunday, January 1st, 2022, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Rural Hill is at 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville.
Participants will walk the borders of the Historic Rural Hill property, in Huntersville, stopping together to listen to stories of history and folklore. The walk is about 2.25 miles, so wear comfortable shoes.
Following the “First Footin’” will be the “Stone Soup” blessing and lunch. The event is free, but please bring your own lunch.
Check out our big list of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day events in Charlotte!
First Footin’ Schedule
12 p.m.: Gather at the Rural Hill Cultural Center
1 p.m.: Step off for the First Footin’ Walk around the farm grounds
2 p.m.: Stone Soup Blessing and Gathering
The Walk
Wear good walking shoes and appropriate clothing for the season.
This will be a vigorous walk around the farm’s 2.25 mile trail, event, and historic sites, stopping along the way to discuss history and folklore.
If you’re not physically able to do the walk, please come anyway, and spend time in the Rural Retreat Cabin Site, which will be open for the occasion, and enjoy the lunch.
First Footin’ Lunch Gathering
Rural Hill is unable to do the traditional Stone Soup, so instead of bringing an ingredient for the soup, please bring a picnic lunch for yourself, and a canned good item to donate to local food pantries.
The First Footin’ Tradition
At the end of the sixteenth century in Scotland, after the Protestant Reformation, celebration of religious holidays was frowned upon, so the celebration moved to New Year’s Day.
Hogmanay (pronounced Hog-muh-nay) because an important celebration that combined both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. It celebrated both good will and good fortune.
It was considered good luck for a household if the first person to set food in the doorway on New Year’s Day was a young man. Preferably one that was tall, handsome, healthy, dark-haired, dark-eyed, and bearing gifts.
Some towns in Scotland have annual ritual of walking the town limits to reclaim the boundaries of the township.
These traditions have become part of the Rural Hill Hogmanay celebration.
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