Scotland's traditional New Year's celebration is called Hogmanay.
Hogmanay begins on New Year's Eve and can continue into the following days. Celebrations commonly include parties, concerts, torchlight processions, fireworks, singing, and the custom of first-footing, in which the first person to enter a household after midnight is believed to influence the home's luck for the year.
Edinburgh hosts one of the world's best-known Hogmanay events, with a large street party and a torchlight procession. The modern festival combines Scottish traditions with organized public entertainment and attracts visitors from many countries.
The word Hogmanay has uncertain origins. Proposed explanations connect it with Scots, French, Norse, and Gaelic influences, but no single derivation is universally accepted. Hogmanay is often confused with Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25; the two celebrations are separate.