New Year's Tradition of the "First Footer" - Happy New Year 2012 Blog Hop + Giveaway

"The First Footer"

Did you know that after midnight, it’s bad luck for anyone to leave the house before someone enters it? That’s because the “first footer” – whomever enters your home in the New Year first – is said to influence your luck for the next twelve months. This belief in the importance of the "first footer" is found in a surprising number of cultures all over the globe!

In the British Isles, it was considered very bad luck for your first visitor to be a woman. And a blonde-haired man was too much like the Viking invaders of old. Certain people were shunned as "first footers" - people with red hair, doctors, ministers, thieves, grave-diggers, anyone with crossed eyes or flat feet, or someone whose eyebrows meet in the middle of their forehead (thought to be a sign of being a werewolf!). Such visitors wouldn't be allowed in and might even be shooed away!

In Ireland, for optimum good luck, a dark-haired man should be first through the door. If he’s handsome and single, so much the better.  And it’s really lucky if he arrives on a horse! The man should bring symbolic gifts – some coins, a loaf of bread, a lump of coal for the fire, a branch of evergreen and salt. Ideally, the man will make his way through the house and leave by a different door.

In Vietnam, the first person through the door influences the family's fortune for the year. A person of great prestige, success or integrity is sought to be the first footer. No one visits a house uninvited at New Year's!


In most countries with a first footer tradition, no one should leave the premises before the first footer arrives, not even to take out the garbage! It's important for the very first traffic across the threshold to be headed IN rather than OUT. The symbolism is obvious - it's desirable for people and prosperity to flow towards your home during the year to come. 

My favorite tradition is said to come from the southern United States. The sex of the first visitor through the door doesn't influence luck, but instead is said to shape the balance of power in a marriage for the coming year. If a man enters, then the husband will have more power. If it's a woman, the wife will be the more powerful partner. Myself, I think I'd settle for a happily married couple to step over the threshold at the same time!

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Here's the fun part.  From Dec 30 to Jan 3, it's the
"Happy New Year 2012 Giveaway Hop ".  
Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another!  (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others.)

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

A winner has been drawn - 
Congrats to "Pen to Paper" from the UK. 
Pen will be receiving a signed copy of
CHANGELING MOON by Dani Harper and 
a tote bag to put it in!  


Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit my blog and share their traditions. Warm and wonderful wishes to all of you for 2012!


The complete list of all participating blogs in this hop can be found on this page:  http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-new-year-2012-giveaway-hop-sign.html

CHANGELING DAWN released - the latest in Dani Harper's shapeshifter series

Never judge a man by his species...

NEW RELEASE!!!

My main characters are werewolves, but don’t call them that. They prefer the term Changelings, and they live right here among us. Your boss could be a Changeling. So could the gal that does your pedicure. The coach of your company baseball team or even the cop that gives you a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt again could have furry tendencies. Your BFF could run on four feet at night and you wouldn’t know. Changelings hide in plain sight and live very human lives most of the time.

Love, however, complicates their lives wildly.

Check out the exciting trailer on YouTube! http://youtu.be/GvtSWYIiqt4     


Changeling Moon and Changeling Dream were released earlier this year and the reviews have been wonderful. Changeling Dawn has just been released TODAY. I’m very excited about it – I feel that this third installment is the best yet and I'm excited to finally be able to share it with my readers. It's already garnered several 4 1/2 and 5-star reviews! Here's the back cover description of the story:

RUN

Shadow and moonlight merge beneath her bare feet, the forest floor blurring as she flees the dogs and torches.  Werewolf, monster -- those are the names given her kind by the humans who hate them.

HUNT

Kenzie Macleod has spent her whole life hiding what she is, and she’s not about to open up to any man, even one as powerfully attractive as wildlife expert Josh Talarkoteen. But legend says that a Changeling cannot escape the call of her true mate, even in the wilderness of backcountry Alaska.

MATE

An isolated archeological site, a terrified Changeling cub, a secretive research center – as Kenzie and Josh face the ultimate betrayal, his obsidian eyes promise untold pleasure, and hint at dark secrets of his own . . .  

You'll find excerpts and reviews of Changeling Dawn and the other books in the series on my website at http://www.daniharper.com/CHANGELING_DAWN.html 

Changeling Dawn is now available in trade paperback or ebook at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes & Noble, Chapters-Indigo, Book Depository, Kobo, Sony and many other fine online and walk-in booksellers.

Dani Harper

www.daniharper.com 

KRAMPUS, THE CHRISTMAS DEMON

Christmas is a time for sharing old memories, old traditions and sometimes old blogs too!  This is one of my all-time favorites.  Enjoy, and happy holidays!

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Our North American Santa Claus is loosely based on the European Saint Nicholas, a kind, gift-giving fellow traditionally portrayed in long bishop’s robes instead of a red suit. Saint Nick grew out of stories about an actual person, Nikolaos of Myra, a Greek bishop with a reputation for secret gift-giving such as leaving coins in shoes and working miracles.

So understanding Saint Nicholas is easy. It’s the company he keeps that raises questions and eyebrows. In Austria, Hungary, Bavaria and other Alpine countries, St. Nick’s assistant isn't a cute little elf, it's an enslaved demon. Yup, that’s right. D-E-M-O-N. This cloven-hoofed creature goes by many names, but most commonly is called Krampus, which is Old High German for claw.

Krampus

Perhaps the word for “long” would have suited him better. Not only does Krampus have lengthy talons, but sports exceptional horns on his head as well. His seven-foot tall body is usually covered with long shaggy hair (often black), he has a long tail and he has a tongue longer and more prehensile than that belonging to Gene Simmons' demon character of KISS fame.

If all that weren’t intimidating enough, Krampus is not only a demon, but an incubus. That’s a demon who sexually preys on sleeping humans! (Santa hangs out with a predator?!)

St. Nick and his goons

So while St. Nicholas got all the positive press by delivering gifts and treats to “good” boys and girls, Krampus was right by his side to dish out not just warnings but punishment to the “bad” children, and sometimes to adults too. In some places, the jolly old saint was accompanied by not one but several demons – his own personal gang of enforcers!

If you weren't saying your prayers, doing your chores and being properly respectful to elders, the penalty wasn't a mere lump of coal in your stocking. Krampus was armed with chains, a bag or basket and bundles of switches. If you were lucky, Krampus only took all your presents for himself. More often, you’d be spanked or even beaten. In some towns, kids had to run a long gauntlet of people dressed as Krampus and armed with switches!

Krampus taking "bad" children to Hell

Really naughty kids were allegedly shackled with chains or stuffed in a bag or basket, and carried off to Hell to burn forever – at least, that’s what children were told. In Switzerland, where Krampus is called Schmutzli, children were routinely threatened with being carried off to the dark forest by the demon or tied in his sack to be thrown in the river and drowned!

We've all seen little kids who are intimidated or downright terrified of department store Santas (some of us WERE those little kids!). How on earth did European children cope with seven-foot demons threatening them? Were they tougher than today's kids or were they scarred for life? Psychological studies hadn't been invented when St. Nick’s sinister sidekick first popped up in Germanic folklore around 1600. And the whole Christmas demon concept probably goes all the way back to pre-Christian winter solstice celebrations when pagan deities were said to roam the night.

Greetings from Krampus!

Krampus' popularity grew until eventually he got his own day. Krampusnacht was usually December 5th which is the eve of St. Nicholas Day in many regions. In some places, there were entire Krampus festivals held, where young men dressed up like demons and terrorized the local children (and unwary young women) for days. By the way, the reward for this important public service was beer and other spirits. Many of these traditional festivals continue to this day.

In the 1800s, while the Victorians were developing the notion of sending pretty Christmas cards, a trend emerged in some European countries to send scary, lewd and suggestive postcards of the yuletide demon! Instead of Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, these cards usually said “Greetings from Krampus!” (About as cheery to receive as “Compliments from Satan”!)

So the next time you start wishing for a real old-fashioned holiday, try singing “Krampus the Christmas Demon” to the tune of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” and remember that the season of goodwill once had a very dark and disturbing side!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/


Your turn!  Have you ever heard tales of the Krampus? Got any other scary Christmas traditions to share?  By the way, have a look at this book on Amazon - The Devil in Design: The Krampus Postcards

"12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop" - Creepy Christmas superstitions from Dani Harper

See instructions at the bottom of this blog post!

December is filled with myth and legend, wonder and whispers. And sometimes the weird, creepy and scary as well. Here are 5 superstitions associated with the season --- and they're definitely not visions of dancing sugar plums!


1.   Dogs that howl on Christmas Eve will go mad before the end of the year. A candle or a lamp should be kept burning all night on Christmas Eve to avoid a death in the house in the following year.


2.   Instead of water turning into wine at midnight on Christmas Eve, some hold the belief that the water in streams and wells turns into blood! Not only that, if you witness this change, you’ll die within the year!


3.   A once popular parlor game gave everyone an apple after dinner, which was then cut in half across the middle to reveal the pattern of the core. If the core is star-shaped (most apples have this), the owner of the apple will see another Christmas. If the core is a different shape, the owner’s death will occur in the next twelve months! The appearance of a four-pointed cross was worst of all – although what was worse than death is never mentioned.


4.   A Scandinavian belief states that it’s dangerous to go out on Christmas Eve because of the many supernatural beings that come out of their hiding places that night. Trolls, witches, goblins and ghosts roam freely, some of which are the spirits of the dead revisiting their previous homes. Gifts must be left outside – bowls of pudding and cream, clothes, tobacco and even ale – in order to appease some of these creatures. The most perilous time occurred between cock’s crow and dawn, when supernatural beings were at the peak of their power. To go outside meant risking death or being carried off by them, never to be seen again.


5.   Swedish folklore puts a chilling twist on this story. On Christmas Eve, they prepare their dining room with food and ale and blazing fire – and leave it overnight to enable the spirits of the dead to celebrate. The family checks the chairs in the morning for traces of earth, proof that the dead have come calling!

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Ready for some fun?  From Dec 13 - 24, it's the 1st Annual "12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop". Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another!  (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others.)


THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. 
A winner has been drawn to receive a signed copy of CHANGELING DREAM and a Dani Harper tote bag! 

Congratulations to DONNAS!  
Thank you to everyone who dropped by. I really enjoyed the comments! 


Check out the 2012 New Year's Blog Hop right here, beginning on December 30th

The "Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop" - author Dani Harper

   For a list of all the blogs
participating in the hop,
click HERE.

It's December, month of gifts and giving, legends and lore. There's plenty of superstitions too. Here's five:

1.   The first person downstairs on Christmas morning was to take a broom, open the front door and sweep all “trouble” from the doorstep. A variation on this is to sweep all the bad luck out of the house (I'm betting both were ploys to get the kids to clean up!)


2.   Eating a raw egg before eating anything else on Christmas morning was said to make you exceptionally strong. (Strong-WILLED if nothing else!)


3.   In Wales, the plough was to be brought into the house and kept under the dining table during the entire Christmas season. This assured a good harvest in the coming year (and not much legroom during dinner!)


4.   English folklore instructs young girls to knock on the henhouse door on Christmas Eve. If a rooster crows, she’ll marry within the year. If there is silence, she’ll never marry! (AS IF any self-respecting chickens would be quiet if someone banged on their door!)


5.   In some places it was unlucky to receive a gift of new shoes or tanned leather on Christmas. However, some people in Greece ward off bad luck in the upcoming year by burning their old shoes during the Christmas season (Hmmmm... I know a pair of my husband’s shoes I’d like to burn!)  Another footwear superstition says that all the family’s shoes should be placed neatly side by side on Christmas Eve to prevent quarreling in the new year.

In line with the "giving and gifts" portion of the season, I'm participating in the "Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop".  Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another!  (You're not required to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others).


How to enter Dani Harper's Giveaway:

So, for MY giveaway all you have to do is answer this question in a comment between now and Dec. 16 --- 
What's your favorite thing about December?  
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. A winner has been drawn to receive a signed copy of CHANGELING DREAM and a Dani Harper tote bag! 
Congratulations to Tiffany H!  Thank you to everyone who entered. Really enjoyed your comments!

Click here for a list of the other blogs which participated in the "Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop"