12 Days of Christmas- Hogmanay- 3rd January

This years 12 Days of Christmas parcels started with a hand dyed braid on 25th December, but then the following days all contain brand new colours of Superfine Merino & Silk. 
This is the exact same fibre composition as all the rest of the stock currently in the shop, so can be used interchangeably in the same projects. This was specially commissioned for the 12 Days of Christmas parcels, which meant I had to order lots of each colour. As a result the spare fibre is going online at midnight (GMT) on the day featuring each individual colour. Anyone can buy this spare fibre... it's really rather pretty! You can find it in the Superfine Merino & Silk section of the shop, and the usual Buy 2, Get a 3rd Half price offer applies to this fibre as well. ​

I've given them seasonal names, picking out traditions from all around the world. 

This beautiful shade of blue is called Hogmanay.
It's a vibrant shade, with lots of turquoise, but also streaks of dark navy blue and teal. 

Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year celebration. For a long period of time Christmas wasn't celebrated in much of Scotland. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland discouraged celebrations on Christmas Day for over 400 years, Christmas Day only became a national holiday in Scotland in 1958. Instead most Scots celebrated on New Years Eve and New Years Day. 

Many of the Scottish Hogmanay customs are now familiar to many of us as things that we do on New Years Eve. The practise of First Footing, this brings the luck for the rest of the year. For the best possible start the first person across the threshold should be a dark haired male, and he should be bringing salt (the custom of offering salt to guests is incredibly ancient), shortbread, whisky and black bun. 
Black Bun is a rich fruit cake, completely encased in pastry. 

In many parts, particularly the Highland and Islands the celebrations take on a distinctly Viking feel. 

​Should you not feel like swinging fireballs around your back garden other traditions such as cleaning the house before the stroke of midnight are a little bit more achievable!