Edinburgh hosts Edinburgh's Hogmanay, one of the world's best-known New Year's Eve festivals.
Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year's Eve, and Edinburgh's modern festival developed into a large, multi-event celebration featuring concerts, street gatherings, and a torchlight procession. The city is particularly associated with welcoming the new year beneath Edinburgh Castle, whose skyline forms a prominent backdrop to many events.
The festival draws on Scottish customs including singing Auld Lang Syne, first-footing, and communal celebration. First-footing traditionally involves the first person to enter a home after midnight bringing symbolic gifts such as food or drink. Modern Edinburgh events combine these older customs with ticketed entertainment and organized public safety measures.
Hogmanay is not the name of Edinburgh itself, and it is not limited to one single ceremony. Scotland uses the word for the New Year's Eve period generally, while Edinburgh's branded festival is one especially famous expression of it. Dates and individual events can change from year to year.