Wishful thinking for the New Year
My grandfather had a tradition on New Year's Eve when I was growing up in Scotland. (Actually, he had many, but this one fits the purpose of this column!)
Just before midnight, Grandpa Tait would open the front and back doors of his Clydebank home.
Didn't matter how cold it was, or how much my grandmother complained; we'd all have to sit and freeze at midnight. The back door was opened to let the old year out, while the front door was opened to let the new year in.
"In with the new, out with the old," he'd say.