Edinburgh hosts Scotland's famous Hogmanay New Year's Eve street party.
Hogmanay is the Scottish word for New Year's Eve and also the name used for Scotland's wider New Year celebrations. Edinburgh's event became internationally prominent through concerts, torchlight processions, fireworks, and a large gathering along Princes Street and nearby parts of the city center.
The celebration developed from older Scottish winter customs and was shaped by the importance of New Year in Scotland. Christmas was historically less prominent in Scottish public life than it became elsewhere in Britain, making Hogmanay a particularly important holiday for gatherings, music, visiting, and shared rituals.
One related custom is first-footing: the first person to enter a household after midnight is traditionally expected to bring good fortune, sometimes symbolized by gifts such as whisky, shortbread, or coal. Hogmanay is broader than Edinburgh's street party, but Edinburgh is the city most specifically associated with the internationally advertised event.