My "First Footer - 2007"!
OK - who said "What's a First Footer"? No it's got nothing whatsoever to do with football (Italian or any other kind....).
First Footing is the tradition of allowing a MAN to be the first to set foot/cross the threshold in your home after midnight at the new year! There are many traditions attached to this so called 'bringer of good fortune', but where I come from it involved the man bearing a gift of a lump of coal (or a small log of wood) to ensure warmth in the hearth for the coming year, and in addition a small piece of bread and a 'twist' of salt - these to ensure that there would be sufficient sustenance in the home too.
So how did it go in my house?
Don't even ask!
I spent the early part of the evening with the family and friends, but as I was driving and the roads were very icy, I (and others) decided to leave before the stroke of midnight to be able to toast the 'New Year In' in a suitable fashion. So that's what I did.... and I watched all the fireworks in all the villages on the mountains all around me. That in itself was worth being at home for. Then on the 'First' - like half of Italy I think - it was a really lazy day. Yes I got up late (for me) and decided to just lounge around . I didn't have to cook as I'd prepared the 'traditional' lentils with a hot, cooked Italian speciality sausage called 'zampone', which is the skin of a pigs foot stuffed with this very spicy sausage meat (OK - who said "YUK"?). Of course I didn't have a whole zampone - they're quite large - but I bought three slices from my local butcher. So all was ready for my lazy day. I wasn't expecting any visitors - and didn't get any - thank heavens.
But then I though about my 'First Footer'! If no one came on the 1st - then I was likely to have Nicoletta (the lady who 'does for me' once a week) crossing my threshold first!
Horror of horrors - what to do?
Well I thought, maybe I could convince Gianpiero (the 80 year old goatherd) who keeps his goats in his small barn on the opposite side of the lane behind me, to do the honours. His place is the little bit of roof you can see to the left of the large arrow over my roof! (the little arrow is over my 'hay store'....
He is ALWAYS up here just after 7am to feed and water his goats (all 29 of 'em). So I'll chance my arm and ask him.... Yeah - right! So the one morning I really needed him where was he? Well he wasn't feeding his blo*dy goats that's for sure.... so my best laid plans had to be chucked out with the baby and the bathwater - my 'First Footer' was Nicoletta after all. That means, I suppose, that 2007 is NOT going to be too lucky for me after all! I'll just have to break some of my habits of a life time for the next 12 months I guess. What habits? - you may well ask! Well I'll have to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business - for twelve whole months - if I don't want to invoke all this (supposed) bad luck!
But between you and me (ssh) - I've decided this morning that I don't believe in all these daft traditions, so 'bad luck' can go elsewhere...SO THERE!
Ha ha ha!!!
First Footing is the tradition of allowing a MAN to be the first to set foot/cross the threshold in your home after midnight at the new year! There are many traditions attached to this so called 'bringer of good fortune', but where I come from it involved the man bearing a gift of a lump of coal (or a small log of wood) to ensure warmth in the hearth for the coming year, and in addition a small piece of bread and a 'twist' of salt - these to ensure that there would be sufficient sustenance in the home too.
So how did it go in my house?
Don't even ask!
I spent the early part of the evening with the family and friends, but as I was driving and the roads were very icy, I (and others) decided to leave before the stroke of midnight to be able to toast the 'New Year In' in a suitable fashion. So that's what I did.... and I watched all the fireworks in all the villages on the mountains all around me. That in itself was worth being at home for. Then on the 'First' - like half of Italy I think - it was a really lazy day. Yes I got up late (for me) and decided to just lounge around . I didn't have to cook as I'd prepared the 'traditional' lentils with a hot, cooked Italian speciality sausage called 'zampone', which is the skin of a pigs foot stuffed with this very spicy sausage meat (OK - who said "YUK"?). Of course I didn't have a whole zampone - they're quite large - but I bought three slices from my local butcher. So all was ready for my lazy day. I wasn't expecting any visitors - and didn't get any - thank heavens.
But then I though about my 'First Footer'! If no one came on the 1st - then I was likely to have Nicoletta (the lady who 'does for me' once a week) crossing my threshold first!
Horror of horrors - what to do?
Well I thought, maybe I could convince Gianpiero (the 80 year old goatherd) who keeps his goats in his small barn on the opposite side of the lane behind me, to do the honours. His place is the little bit of roof you can see to the left of the large arrow over my roof! (the little arrow is over my 'hay store'....
He is ALWAYS up here just after 7am to feed and water his goats (all 29 of 'em). So I'll chance my arm and ask him.... Yeah - right! So the one morning I really needed him where was he? Well he wasn't feeding his blo*dy goats that's for sure.... so my best laid plans had to be chucked out with the baby and the bathwater - my 'First Footer' was Nicoletta after all. That means, I suppose, that 2007 is NOT going to be too lucky for me after all! I'll just have to break some of my habits of a life time for the next 12 months I guess. What habits? - you may well ask! Well I'll have to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business - for twelve whole months - if I don't want to invoke all this (supposed) bad luck!
But between you and me (ssh) - I've decided this morning that I don't believe in all these daft traditions, so 'bad luck' can go elsewhere...SO THERE!
Ha ha ha!!!
posted by Carole B at
10:49 AM
1 Comments:
Oh geez, I forgot about this one. Now I'm trying to remember who came in our house first. Yeah, I'm just going to go with "I don't believe in this stuff either." It's safer.
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