Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year's Eve celebrations.
The word refers both to the final day of the year and to the customs surrounding it. Modern Hogmanay events commonly include street parties, concerts, fireworks, torchlight processions, and “first-footing,” in which the first visitor to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts.
Many traditions developed from a mixture of Gaelic, Norse, and Christian customs. Edinburgh’s large public celebration helped make the name internationally familiar, although Hogmanay is observed throughout Scotland and among Scottish communities elsewhere.
Hogmanay is sometimes confused with Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on 25 January. It is also distinct from Up Helly Aa, a Shetland fire festival held later in winter.