Scotland's New Year's Eve celebration is called Hogmanay, and it is traditionally associated with first-footing.
Hogmanay includes customs that continue after midnight, when the first person to enter a household is believed to influence the household's luck for the coming year. This visitor is called the first-footer. In many traditions, a dark-haired man was considered especially lucky, although practices vary by region and family.
First-footers traditionally bring symbolic gifts such as shortbread, coal, salt, or whisky. These items represent food, warmth, prosperity, and hospitality. The visitor may also be expected to enter through the front door and leave by another route, reflecting local custom.
Hogmanay developed from Scottish winter and year-end traditions, with influences from Gaelic, Norse, and Christian culture. Modern celebrations can include street parties, torchlight processions, concerts, and communal singing of “Auld Lang Syne.” Hogmanay is not simply another name for Burns Night, which commemorates Robert Burns's birthday in January.