New Year’s Eve is called Hogmanay in Scotland, where Hogmanay celebrations are held.
Hogmanay refers to the Scottish New Year festival and the customs surrounding the last day of the old year and the beginning of the new one. Its exact linguistic origin is uncertain, with proposed influences from Scots, French, Norse, and Gaelic traditions. The term is older than the modern large-scale public events associated with it.
A well-known Hogmanay custom is first-footing: the first person to enter a home after midnight traditionally brings symbolic gifts such as shortbread, whisky, coal, or salt. Another tradition is singing “Auld Lang Syne,” the Robert Burns song that became internationally connected with New Year celebrations.
Hogmanay is sometimes confused with Burns Night, which is held on January 25 to celebrate Robert Burns’s birthday. Scotland’s major New Year festival is Hogmanay, while Burns Night has its own dinners, readings, and ceremonial customs.