FIRMINY  , a

town of central France in the department of Loire, 8 m . S.W. of St Etienne by rail . Pop . (1go6) 15,778 . It has important coal mines known since the 14th century and extensive manufactures of iron and steel goods, including railway material, machinery and cannon . Fancy woollen hosiery is also manufactured . FIRST-FOOT, in British folklore, especially that of the north and Scotland, the first person who crosses the threshold on Christmas or New Year's Eve . Good or ill luck is believed to be brought the house by First-Foot, and a female First-Foot is regarded with dread . In Lancashire a light-haired man is as unlucky as a woman, and it became a custom for dark-haired males to hire themselves out to " take the New Year in." In Worcestershire luck is ensured by stopping the first carol-singer who appears and leading him through the house . In Yorkshire it must always be a male who enters the house first, but his fairness is no objection . In Scotland first-footing was always more elaborate than in England, involving a subsequent entertainment .