01 The New Year Reference Guide

Our own drawings and a plain, sourced account of New Year: why the year begins on 1 January, Hogmanay, first-footing, the Qualtagh and Auld Lang Syne, including where good sources disagree on official dates and on Burns.

What’s inside:

- What a New Year festival is

- Why 1 January?

- Britain in 1752

- Hogmanay, first-footing, the Qualtagh and Auld Lang Syne

- Credits, licence and sources

Pages: 11 (A4) / 11 (US Letter). Formats: A4 (210 × 297 mm) and US Letter (8.5 × 11 in), both PDFs included in one zip.

Printing: Print at 100% / actual size on A4 or US Letter. Most inside pages use light backgrounds and print well in black and white; the cover is dark, so print that in colour or skip it to save ink.

Every fact is written in our own words and checked against named sources from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Scotland's People, the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 and Culture Vannin (checked 14 Nov 2026); the sources are listed on the credits page. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with its source.

Drawings are our own, simplified and not to scale. This pack is independent and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Scotland's People, the National Records of Scotland, legislation.gov.uk or Culture Vannin.

Licence: personal use. Print as many copies as you need for yourself and your household. Please don’t resell, re-upload or share it publicly. For club, school or commercial use, please email info@reallybyte.com.

Made by REALLYBYTE, the team behind newyear.traditions.im. Questions: info@reallybyte.com

This is a digital download: no physical item will be shipped.

Price: $5.99 USD.