The Scottish New Year celebration featuring torchlight processions and fire festivals is called Hogmanay.
Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Year’s Eve and the New Year. Its traditions vary by place but can include street parties, music, torchlight processions, fireworks, and communal singing of “Auld Lang Syne.” Edinburgh hosts one of the best-known modern Hogmanay programs, while Stonehaven is famous for its fireball ceremony.
The word’s exact origin is uncertain. Proposed explanations connect it with Scots, French, Norse, or Gaelic influences, reflecting Scotland’s complex linguistic history. The celebration also developed distinctive customs such as first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is traditionally associated with the household’s luck.
Hogmanay is not the same as Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25. It is also separate from St Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day on November 30, and from Up Helly Aa, a Shetland fire festival held in winter.