Christmas Q-Aye – Scottish Facts Part 4
Festive facts in the spirit of the season
Put yourself to the test with our collection of weird and wonderful Scottish Christmas Facts. How many did you know?
13. Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, Boney M, Rod Stewart and Prince have all recorded versions of Auld Lang Syne.
14. In Dundee until the mid 1970s the traditional first foot gift was a herring wearing a dress! The fish could be bought at stalls in town and the fancier the frock, the better with many wearing crinolines or dressed as brides. The herring was then hung above the front door where it was meant to remain until the following year.
15. Clarence Odbody, Angel Second Class, who has yet to earn his wings in the Christmas classic, It’s A Wonderful Life was a Scot! The part was played by stage actor, Henry Travis, a doctor’s son from Berwick-on-Tweed.
16. Edinburgh zoo was the inspiration for John Lewis’s famous Monty the Penguin Christmas TV ad. The production team at agency, Adam & Eve/DDB spent a day at Edinburgh Zoo. During their visit they discussed the behaviour and movements of penguins with the keepers and also made short recordings which were used when developing CGI technology to create the realistic on-screen penguin characters. Although Monty and Mabel are Adélie penguins, they have the same behaviours and mannerisms as the Gentoo penguins at Edinburgh.
