Hogmanay is the Scottish name for the New Year's Eve festival that includes first-footing.
Scottish Hogmanay customs combine public celebrations, visiting, songs, fire traditions, and symbolic ideas about beginning the new year well. One of the best-known practices is first-footing: the first person to enter a household after midnight is traditionally expected to bring gifts such as coal, shortbread, or whisky.
In some traditions, a tall, dark-haired first-footer is considered especially lucky. The custom reflects older beliefs about hospitality and good fortune, though modern celebrations often treat it as a social tradition rather than a strict superstition.
Hogmanay is sometimes confused with Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25, or St Andrew's Day on November 30. Those are separate Scottish occasions. Edinburgh's large street celebration, torchlight events, and singing of “Auld Lang Syne” have helped make Hogmanay internationally famous.