By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Brearley family — among the earliest settlers of Lawrence Township — would feel right at home and ready to join in the fun of the annual Hogmanay bonfire on New Year’s Eve, held right outside the doorstep of the family’s homestead at the end of Meadow Road.
The bonfire, which traces its origins to a Scottish tradition, will be lighted at 6 p.m. Monday night. Sponsored by the Lawrence Historical Society, the event is free and open to the public — and, as usual, the historic Brearley House will be open for tours.
But in a twist from past years, visitors will be asked to park at the Princeton Pike Corporate Center parking lot — not in the field next to the Brearley House. Visitors will turn into the office park at the intersection of Princeton Pike and Lenox Drive, at the traffic light. It is about 100 yards south of Meadow Road.
From the Princeton Pike Corporate Center parking lot, visitors may walk on a lighted portion of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail — about one-quarter of a mile from the bonfire site — or they may ride in the free shuttle bus.
While the fire is burning bright, a bagpiper will play traditional tunes. Visitors are encouraged to write down any bad things that happened to them in 2012 and toss the list onto the bonfire before it is ignited. Paper and pencils will be available for them to draw up that list.
Tossing those bad things into the bonfire is a tradition with which the Brearley family may have been familiar. They immigrated to Lawrence from Yorkshire, England — just across the border from Scotland — in the late 1600s.
The Hogmanay bonfire has been a tradition of the Lawrence Historical Society since 1997. It began as a way to showcase the Brearley House, which was built in 1761, while it was undergoing restoration by Lawrence Township. It proved to be so popular that Hogmanay has become an annual event.
The first bonfire was suggested by LHS member Joseph Logan, who recalled similar bonfires that took place in his childhood hometown of Savannah, Georgia.
The bonfires were a New Year’s Eve community celebration to mark the end of the holiday season with the burning of the year’s Christmas trees. LHS members researched bonfires and discovered the customs of Hogmanay, and the tradition of the New Year’s Eve bonfire was born.
No one knows the origin of the name “Hogmanay,” according to the website, www.hogmanay.net. It is the Scottish word for “ the last day of the year,” and it may have entered the Scots language from the French “hoguinan” — a New Year’s gift; the Gaelic “og maidne” — new morning; or the Anglo-Saxon “haleg monath” — holy month.
The various local traditions found in Scotland that are centered around fire hark back to the ancient past. In pagan winter celebrations, fire symbolized the newly resurgent sun coming back to the land and it was believed to ward off evil spirits dwelling in the darkness.
Fire still plays a major part in Hogmanay celebrations, with bonfires, torchlight processions and fireworks popular in Scotland.
The most important aspect of any Hogmanay celebration is cleansing for the new year. This includes paying off old debts, washing the house and banishing thoughts of bad happenings from the previous year.
Other traditions include banging pots at midnight to ward off dark spirits, banishing stray dogs to keep evil at bay, and first-footing — a tradition of visiting friends and relatives at midnight to bring them good cheer to start the new year.
For more information about the Hogmanay celebration, visit the Lawrence Historical Society’s web site at www.thelhs.org.

