Edinburgh's major New Year's Eve festival, famous for its torchlight procession, is called Hogmanay.
Hogmanay is the Scots word for New Year's Eve and also the name used for Scotland's extensive New Year celebrations. Edinburgh's festival commonly includes a torchlight procession, a large outdoor concert, and a midnight fireworks display near Edinburgh Castle, although programs can change from year to year.
The torchlight procession usually moves through central Edinburgh and is intended to create a dramatic communal opening to the celebrations. The festival combines modern concerts and organized street events with older Scottish customs such as singing “Auld Lang Syne.”
Hogmanay should not be confused with Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25, or St Andrew's Day on November 30. Up Helly Aa is a separate Shetland fire festival traditionally held later in winter.