Hogmanay fumigate the buildings until it causes sneezing and coughing among the inhabitants. Then all the doors and windows are flung open to let in the cold, fresh air of the new year. The woman of the house then administers 'a restorative' from the whisky bottle, and the household sits down to its New Year breakfast. The Hogmanay custom of singing "Auld Lang Syne" has become common in many countries. "Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem by Robert Burns, based on traditional and other earlier sources. It is now common to sing this in a circle of linked arms that
Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands were crystal sets. The radios were returned on 14 December. Christmas Eve was celebrated together, with decorations, music and carols sung by both groups. The Germans joined in the circle on New Year's Eve at midnight to sing Auld Lang Syne, before firing their weapons to welcome the new year. The soldiers were regularly rotated and additional soldiers arrived bringing the total to 200 including a more high handed group of bureaucrats, issuing orders that were often restrictive and illogical, such as limiting fishing times without paying attention to tide tables, resulting in a fall in the fish catch. Later