What is the name of Edinburgh’s major New Year’s Eve festival, known for street parties and torchlight events?

Edinburgh’s major New Year’s Eve festival, known for street parties and torchlight events, is Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.

Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s celebrations, and Edinburgh’s version developed into a large multi-day festival. Its program has included a torchlight procession, concerts, a major street party, and events around the Old Town and city centre. The exact schedule and locations can vary between years.

The festival’s modern form grew particularly strongly from the late twentieth century, when Edinburgh promoted organized public celebrations for residents and visitors. Its torchlight traditions connect the event with Scotland’s older winter fire customs, although the large procession is a modern organized spectacle rather than an unchanged medieval ritual.

Hogmanay is not the same as first-footing, the Scottish custom involving the first person to enter a home after midnight. First-footing can be part of personal celebrations, while Edinburgh’s Hogmanay refers specifically to the city’s public festival.