All fired up for the new year

ONE community welcomed in the New Year a few days late, with an ancient fire ceremony.

Residents of Burghead in Moray celebrated the Burning of the Clavie, a barrel with tar-soaked sticks fixed on top of a pole. The long-held tradition was marked yesterday, January 11, the date which marked the turn of the year until the Gregorian calendar was introduced in the middle of the 18th century.

People living in Burghead are said to have begun celebrating New Year twice with a crowd taking the “clavie” round the town before finishing on the Doorie Hill.