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Scottish Christmas
There are some special Scottish traditions and customs.
Black Bun is originally Twelfth Night Cake. It is a fruitcake, made of fruit, almonds, spices, and flour together with a lot of whisky. The mixture is put into a cake tin and baked.
Sun Cakes came to Scotland from Scandinavia. Sun cakes were baked with a hole in the center and symmetrical lines around, resembling the Sun.
“Bees leave hives Xmas Morn” – this is an old belief that early on Christmas Morning all bees crowd together, and then come back. Many old Scots tell tales about this happening, though no one can explain why. One explanation is that bees get curious about activity of people and want to check it out to see if there is any danger.
There are some forecasting customs- Ashes, Bull and Cailleach. Ashes- people check the cold ashes the morning after Christmas in the fireplace. A foot shape facing the door means a death in the family. A foot facing into the room means a new baby.
The Cailleach was a ceremony of burning Old Winter. A piece of wood was named as the Spirit of Winter, the Cailleach, and put into a fire to burn away. All the family gathered had to watch it up to the end. The burning symbolized the ending of all the bad luck of the old year.
The Candlemas Bull was in reality a cloud. People believed that a bull would cross the sky in the form of a cloud, early in the morning on Candlemas, February 2nd. If the cloud travelled east it would be a good year, south meant a poor year.
Reading test
Choose the right sentence.
1.
A. There are no special traditions in Scotland.
B. All Scottish traditions are the same as in England and Wales.
C. Some Scottish traditions are different from English and Welsh ones.
D. Some traditions are the same in Scotland and England, but different in Wales.
2.
A. Twelfth Night Cake is the same as Sun Cake.
B. Twelfth Night Cake is the same as Black Bun.
C. Black Bun is the same as Sun Cake.
D. Sun Cake, Black Bun and un Cake are the names of the same cake.
3.
A. Sun Cakes are called so because they are yellow in colour.
B. Sun Cakes are called so because they are baked in the Sun.
C. Sun Cakes are called so because they are as round as the Sun.
D. Sun Cakes are called so because they resemble the Sun.
4.
A. Bees get especially curious on “Xmas Morn” because they want to try traditional Scottish cakes.
B. Bees are never curious.
C. Bees are worried on “Xmas Morn” because they think about their safety.
D. Bees get especially curious on “Xmas Morn” because they want to see what people present to their friends and relatives.
5.
A. On “Xmas Morn” bees usually go to the center of the city.
B. On “Xmas Morn” bees usually crowd together, and then come back.
C. On “Xmas Morn” bees usually crowd together, and never come back.
D. On “Xmas Morn” bees usually crowd together and go to visit bees in England.
6.
A. Ashes is an old custom when people burn all the furniture to see how it burns.
B. Ashes is an old custom when people look at the signs on the ashes in their fireplaces.
C. Ashes is an old custom when people burn old clothes before they start of a new year.
D. Ashes is an old custom when people gather around a big fire to see the ashes.
7.
A. People check the cold ashes the morning after Christmas in the fire in their garden.
B. People check the cold ashes while it is hot the morning after Christmas in the fireplace.
C. People take the cold ashes away from their fireplaces in the morning after Christmas.
D. People check the cold ashes the morning after Christmas in the fireplaces to see the future.
8.
A. The Cailleach was a ceremony of burning Old Winter.
B. The Cailleach was a ceremony of meeting Winter.
C. The Cailleach was a ceremony of burning Christmas trees after the holiday.
D. The Cailleach was a ceremony of meeting friends on the Christmas eve.
9.
A. The Candlemas Bull was in reality a big bull.
B. The Candlemas Bull was in reality a cloud.
C. The Candlemas Bull was in reality a tale about the east wind.
D. The Candlemas Bull was in reality a tale about the south wind.
10.
A. A lot of whisky is put into every traditional Scottish cake.
B. Whisky is not added into any traditional Scottish cake.
C. Whisky is usually added into some traditional Scottish cakes.
D. Traditional Scottish cakes are usually eaten with some whisky.
