The late Mr. Charles B. Smith, rector of Montrose Academy, told me that his mother (who lived at Canonbie, in Dumfriesshire) had a habit of saying to visitors, on their entering the house, 'Come awa, Freya !' Mr. Smith was of opinion that it meant originally, 'Come awa, in the name of Freya' (the Scandinavian goddess). When he asked his mother what she meant by 'Freya,' she said, 'Oh! it's only juist a kind word.' I see from Vigfusson's Icelandic Dictionary that Húsfreyja means a housewife, lady, mistress, and so 'Come awa, Freya'—which, I may mention, Mrs. Smith pronounced frey-ya—might originally mean, 'Come awa, mistress.'
"In connection with the above, the word 'Ghyouw,' used by Carlyle's mother about the same time, in the same district, may interest you, v. Carlyle's Life in London, ii., p. 331.—I am, Sir, yours faithfully, "Robert Matheson."
An old Scandinavian Custom.—The ancient festival of Uphellya was celebrated on Tuesday evening at Lerwick. This festival dates back to Scandinavian times, and is generally supposed to be so named because it marked the termination of the Yule holidays, being the twenty-fourth day from Christmas. The occasion is generally celebrated at Lerwick by a torchlight procession of masqueraders, and the display on Tuesday night was one of the best that has been witnessed for many years. There were about 120 torches, borne by guizers dressed in motley and fantastic garbs. — From the Scotsman newspaper of 31st January, 1889.
