The annual New Year’s Eve celebration held at Edinburgh Castle and across central Edinburgh is Hogmanay.
Hogmanay is the Scots word for New Year’s Eve and also names Scotland’s broader New Year celebration. Edinburgh’s modern festival is known for large outdoor gatherings, concerts, a torchlight procession and fireworks near Edinburgh Castle. The exact program can change from year to year because of weather, safety and event planning.
Scottish New Year customs include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a household after midnight is traditionally expected to bring symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread or whisky. These customs developed alongside older midwinter traditions and family gatherings.
Hogmanay is sometimes confused with Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25. It is also distinct from Up Helly Aa, a fire festival held in Shetland. Edinburgh’s event is one of the world’s best-known organized New Year celebrations.