Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party has its main New Year’s Eve celebration on December 31.
Hogmanay is the Scottish term for the final day of the old year and the associated New Year festivities. Edinburgh’s modern celebration includes a large street party, concerts, a torchlight procession, and midnight fireworks, although individual events and routes can vary from year to year.
Scottish New Year customs also include “first-footing,” in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is traditionally associated with good fortune. Gifts such as food, drink, or coal historically symbolized prosperity and warmth for the year ahead.
Hogmanay is sometimes treated as simply another word for New Year’s Day, but the term primarily refers to the celebrations surrounding the transition from December 31 to January 1. Scotland’s strong public festivities have roots in older winter and seasonal customs.