Edinburgh holds the Hogmanay street party and torchlight procession traditionally associated with Scotland’s New Year celebrations.
Hogmanay is the Scottish word for New Year’s Eve and the surrounding celebration. Edinburgh’s program has included a torchlight procession, a large street party, concerts, and a midnight fireworks display near Edinburgh Castle, making it one of the world’s best-known New Year festivals.
The modern organized festival developed in the late twentieth century, especially after the city began promoting a large public celebration in 1993. Events and routes can change, and not every annual program includes exactly the same activities.
Hogmanay is a national Scottish tradition rather than an event confined to Edinburgh. Other Scottish communities celebrate with customs such as first-footing, but Edinburgh is the city most strongly identified with the internationally promoted festival.