Edinburgh hosts the famous annual Hogmanay celebrations centered on Princes Street and other city-centre venues.
Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve and the New Year celebrations surrounding it. Edinburgh’s modern festival developed into a large, organized event featuring concerts, a torchlight procession, street gatherings, and fireworks near Edinburgh Castle. The exact program can change from year to year, but Edinburgh remains the celebration most strongly associated with Scotland’s internationally marketed Hogmanay festivities.
The word “Hogmanay” has a debated origin, with suggested links to French, Norse, Gaelic, and Scots sources. Scottish customs connected with the season include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is thought to influence the household’s fortunes.
Edinburgh’s event is often confused with Hogmanay as a whole. Hogmanay refers to the broader Scottish tradition, while Edinburgh is the city known for staging one of the world’s largest public New Year festivals.