Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year celebration whose modern public form was popularized in Edinburgh.
The word refers to New Year’s Eve and to the customs surrounding the arrival of the new year in Scotland. Edinburgh’s celebration grew into a major festival featuring concerts, torchlight events, street gatherings, and fireworks. Its exact program changes over time, but the city is internationally associated with large-scale Hogmanay festivities.
Traditional Scottish customs include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is expected to bring good fortune. Gifts such as whisky, shortbread, coal, or salt have historically carried symbolic meaning. Singing “Auld Lang Syne,” a song associated with the Scottish poet Robert Burns, is another widely recognized part of the occasion.
Hogmanay is not the same event as Burns Night, which commemorates Burns on January 25. Nor is it limited to Edinburgh: communities throughout Scotland mark the New Year with their own local customs and gatherings.