In Scotland's Hogmanay celebrations, the first person to enter a home after midnight is called the first-footer.
First-footing is a New Year's custom in which the first person to cross the threshold after midnight is believed to influence the household's luck for the coming year. Traditionally, the visitor brings symbolic gifts such as coal for warmth, shortbread or another food for prosperity, and whisky for hospitality.
Older versions of the custom often considered a tall, dark-haired man especially lucky. In some traditions, a fair-haired visitor was viewed less favorably because of historical memories of Viking raids, though practices differ by region and family.
Hogmanay is Scotland's New Year's festival, with celebrations that can include torchlight processions, street parties and singing “Auld Lang Syne.” First-footing is not the same as the public countdown: it is a household ritual carried out after the new year begins.