Hogmanay is the name of Scotland's New Year's Eve celebration held in Edinburgh and other Scottish communities.
Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a multi-day festival involving concerts, street celebrations, torchlight events, and fireworks, with Edinburgh Castle providing a famous backdrop. The word Hogmanay refers broadly to Scottish New Year customs, not only to one particular procession or concert.
Scottish traditions associated with the season include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts such as whisky, shortbread, coal, or salt. Singing “Auld Lang Syne” is also strongly associated with Scottish New Year celebrations, although it has become international. Hogmanay's precise program changes across years, and the festival can be cancelled or modified for safety, weather, or public-health reasons. It is distinct from Burns Night, which commemorates poet Robert Burns on January 25.