Edinburgh's Hogmanay is the New Year's Eve celebration known for torchlight processions and concerts on Princes Street.
Hogmanay is Scotland’s word for New Year’s Eve, while Edinburgh’s event is a large, organized festival that extends across several days. Its modern public program developed in the late 20th century and has included a torchlight procession, outdoor concerts, street parties, and a midnight fireworks display from Edinburgh Castle.
The city’s celebration incorporates older Scottish customs without being limited to them. First-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts, is associated with Hogmanay in Scotland, but it is distinct from the torchlight procession itself. Edinburgh’s festival has sometimes been canceled or altered because of severe weather, public safety concerns, or public-health restrictions. The word Hogmanay is therefore broader than the name of one specific concert or parade.