Edinburgh hosts the Hogmanay celebration centered on Edinburgh Castle.
Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve and the surrounding celebrations. Edinburgh’s event has included a large street party, concerts, torchlight processions, and fireworks viewed against the castle and the city skyline. The exact program can vary by year, but Edinburgh is the internationally recognized host city.
The word Hogmanay has uncertain origins, with proposed links to French, Gaelic, Norse, and Scots terms. Scottish customs associated with the season include first-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts such as food or drink.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay should not be confused with New Year celebrations in Glasgow or with the separate tradition of Hogmanay as a general Scottish term. The city-specific answer is Edinburgh, while Hogmanay itself refers broadly to Scottish New Year customs.