The Scottish Hogmanay custom involving the first visitor to enter a home after midnight is called first-footing.
In first-footing, the first person to cross a household's threshold after the new year begins is traditionally thought to influence the household's luck. The visitor may bring symbolic gifts, commonly including food, drink, coal, or another item representing warmth and prosperity.
Older versions of the custom sometimes favored a tall, dark-haired male visitor, partly because historical beliefs associated certain appearances with good fortune. Contemporary households interpret the tradition more flexibly, and many focus on the welcome, gifts, and shared celebration rather than a strict rule about who should arrive first.
The practice is especially associated with Scotland's Hogmanay, though related threshold customs appear in other European New Year traditions. It is not simply any New Year's visit: the defining feature is being the first entrant after midnight.