Edinburgh holds the Hogmanay torchlight procession traditionally associated with Scotland’s New Year’s Eve.
The Edinburgh’s Hogmanay program includes a torchlight procession through the city, leading into large public celebrations around the New Year. Participants carry flaming torches through historic streets, creating a visual link between the city’s winter festival and older Scottish fire customs.
The procession has become a major part of Edinburgh’s international festival identity, although it is a relatively modern organized event rather than an unchanged survival from ancient times. Its route and arrangements can vary, and particular editions may be altered for safety, weather, or public-health reasons.
Edinburgh’s celebration also includes concerts, street events, and the midnight singing of “Auld Lang Syne.” Other Scottish cities hold their own Hogmanay events, but Edinburgh is the city most strongly associated with the famous torchlight procession.