The New Year's Eve tradition of being the first visitor to enter a Scottish home after midnight is called first-footing.
The first-foot is the first person to cross a household's threshold after midnight on New Year's Day. Traditional beliefs often favored a tall, dark-haired man as the luckiest visitor, although modern practice varies widely and the custom is generally treated as a friendly social ritual.
A first-footer may bring symbolic gifts such as coal for warmth, bread for food, salt, whisky, or other items representing prosperity and hospitality. The visitor's arrival is meant to bring good fortune to the household for the coming year.
First-footing is associated with Hogmanay but is not identical to Hogmanay itself. Hogmanay is the wider Scottish New Year's celebration, while first-footing is one custom within it.