First Footing and Old Year's Night

A couple of years ago I discovered some long lost relatives here in North America. All of them are originally Scottish, as was my maternal grandfather. I always called him Other Daddy, because, during the years of the Second World War when my father was away 'up north', my mother and I lived with my grandparents and my aunt. They always referred to New Year's Eve as Old Year's Night and made a big deal out of First Footing.
So I always wondered, 'What is that?'
Three Christmasses ago we were in England and I met a woman who kept the tradition. 'First Footing,' she said, 'means bringing in the New Year.' That is, someone actually came to the front door at midnight and stepped across the threshold. This had to be a tall, handsome man. In my mother's family it was always Other Daddy.
The chosen First Footer would carry in his pocket a piece of coal wrapped in a cloth. This he'd place in the hearth to bring warmth for the year ahead... soul warmth as well as physical, I imagine. And new fire for the new year!
Then he'd throw a handful of silver coins up the stairs. These would quickly 'disappear' -- maybe under the carpet. When Easter approached and the time for spring cleaning came, the woman of the house would clean the stairs, discover the money and pocket the coins. So, silver... a precious metal that reflects, maybe indicating a look back over the year, but also then, the hidden treasure that can come with the spring and be anticipated.
Other Daddy died on Old Year's Night during the war. In one of those amazing graces of fate, my father was down from up north -- the desert where his task was to ensure safe drinking water for the Allied troops. He was the linchpin not only for his own family, but for my mother's as well. So he accompanied my grandfather during the last minutes of his life and saw him over the threshold of death.
New Year's Eve in our family was always tinged with this memory. We looked back with both sadness and gratitude, but also forward, with hope.