Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve and the wider Scottish New Year celebration.
In modern usage, Hogmanay commonly refers to the evening of December 31 and the events continuing into January 1 and January 2. Scotland’s celebrations may include street parties, torchlight processions, concerts, fireworks, and the custom of first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts.
The word’s origin is uncertain. Proposed explanations connect it with French, Norse, Gaelic, and Scots terms, but no single etymology is universally accepted. The uncertainty is part of the word’s history rather than evidence that it has no established meaning.
Hogmanay is distinct from Burns Night, held on January 25 to honor poet Robert Burns, and St Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day on November 30. Music and communal visiting are important to Hogmanay, but local traditions differ across Scotland.