Hey It's Fiona again. Today i am writing about the local festivals held in Scotland. The first one, is called "First Footing." This holiday is held on New Years day when familes come from all over Scotland to visit each other. The traditon is after the church bells ring announcing the New Year, the first person to set foot into a house should be a male who is dark and handsome and is holding symbolic coal, shortbread, salt, black bun ( a spiced cake), and whisky. This is where the holiday gets its name; from teh first footing into the house. The next major festival or holiday is called "Candlemas Day." It is a fesitvalthat marksthe coming or beginning off spring. It is more of a relgious holiday for Roman Catholic followers for the purifacation of Mary. It is known as a "Quarter Day" in Scotland which means that all payments are due. So it could be looked at as like a holiday, or a pain! In Feburary we celebrate St. Valentines day. In the past, it had more tradional events. The small children would go around begging for sweets, money, and fruit while the older sibilings were more involved with trying to find a 'Sweetheart." They used to give out slips of paper with names on them andif you drew the same person three times, then a wedding would be planned! There are many more small events celebrated around the country, but these are soem unusal ones!

Bye for now!

Fiona