What is Edinburgh's annual New Year's Eve festival called?

Edinburgh's annual New Year's Eve festival is called Hogmanay.

Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of the final day of the year and the festivities surrounding the arrival of January 1. Edinburgh's modern festival is known for torchlight processions, concerts, street events, and fireworks, although its program and scale can vary from year to year.

The word “Hogmanay” has an uncertain origin. Proposed explanations connect it with Scots, French, Norse, and earlier language traditions, but no single etymology is universally accepted. Scotland's New Year customs also include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is associated with bringing luck.

Hogmanay is not the same holiday as Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25. Nor is it identical to Up Helly Aa, a Shetland fire festival held later in winter. Edinburgh's celebration is one expression of a broader Scottish New Year tradition.