Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve and its associated celebrations.
The word refers both to the final day of the year and, in common usage, to the wider Scottish New Year festival. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is one of the best-known examples, featuring concerts, street celebrations, fireworks, and a torchlight procession in some years. Other Scottish communities mark the occasion with local gatherings, music, and traditional customs.
Hogmanay traditions include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, or whisky. Historically, the identity of the first visitor was sometimes considered important for the household’s luck. Singing Auld Lang Syne is another prominent Scottish association.
Hogmanay is often confused with Burns Night, but Burns Night honors poet Robert Burns on January 25. It is also distinct from Samhain, an older Gaelic seasonal festival associated with the transition into winter.