Scotland’s traditional New Year celebration, held from December 31 into January 1, is called Hogmanay.
Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve and the surrounding festivities. Its customs vary by region, but commonly include gatherings, music, fireworks, torchlight processions, and visits between households after midnight. The celebration is especially prominent in Edinburgh, where large public events have become internationally known.
A famous Hogmanay custom is “first-footing.” Traditionally, the first person to enter a home after midnight should bring symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, salt, or whisky, representing warmth, food, flavor, and good fortune. Dark-haired first-footers were once often considered especially lucky.
Hogmanay is not the same as Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25. The song “Auld Lang Syne,” strongly associated with New Year celebrations, also has Scottish origins, but it is a song rather than the name of the festival.