Hogmanay is the name of the Scottish New Year's Eve celebration that gives Edinburgh its famous annual festival.
Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a multi-day program rather than only a midnight countdown. Its events have included a torchlight procession, concerts, a large street party, and fireworks around the historic city center. The festival combines local Scottish customs with a modern international event format.
The word Hogmanay is used throughout Scotland for New Year's Eve, while Edinburgh's version became particularly prominent as a civic festival in the late twentieth century. First-footing remains one of the best-known related customs: after midnight, the first visitor entering a home traditionally brings good-luck gifts. A common mix-up is treating Hogmanay as the name of the fireworks alone; it refers to the broader celebration and the Scottish New Year period. Burns Night, held in January, is a separate Scottish observance.