Foula - which is home to less than 40 people - never fully adopted the modern Gregorian calendar, preferring instead to follow some of the traditions

Our remote isle celebrates New Year on 13 January

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2025-01-13 02:00:03

Foula - which is home to less than 40 people - never fully adopted the modern Gregorian calendar, preferring instead to follow some of the traditions of the Julian calendar.

More than four centuries ago, Pope Gregory XIII designed the calendar used today to replace the Julian calendar, which had miscalculated the number of days it takes for the Earth to revolve around the sun.

Foula residents do not follow the Julian calendar as a strict daily rule due to the practicalities of island life, as they have to fit in with things such as plane and ferry timetables.

It is served by a ferry which runs between the island and Shetland, and there are also regular flights from Tingwall Airport, just outside Lerwick, to the island.

He spent some of his life on mainland Shetland during his education, and has experienced the "best of both worlds" by getting to celebrate two Christmas days and two New Year days in a single 12-month period.

"But our New Year has similarities with first-footing. You go round houses with a drink, stay a while, and catch up. Then maybe home for dinner and then somewhere for a party into the small hours.