prize5-6, Exercise 1: Hogmanay and Christmas

Model answer (check the details):

Explanation: after the Reformation in the sixteenth century the Church of Scotland discouraged the celebration of Christmas as a Catholic or unscriptural festival, and in many places Christmas Day was an ordinary working day for centuries. The New Year became the main midwinter holiday, with visiting, gifts, food and drink, which is the background to Hogmanay and first-footing. Christmas Day became a public holiday in Scotland only in 1958 and 26 December in 1974.

Evidence: church records and acts discouraging Christmas observance, accounts of customs by diarists and folklorists, and the dates of the public holidays.

Cautions: the strength of the restriction varied by place and period, the Episcopal and Catholic communities kept Christmas, and some accounts exaggerate how completely it vanished (check). The explanation is well supported in outline but should not be stated as a complete picture.