Hogmanay is the Scots word for the New Year's Eve celebration in Scotland.
The term refers both to the final day of the year and to the customs surrounding the Scottish New Year. Celebrations commonly include gatherings, singing, fireworks, and first-footing, in which the first visitor entering a home after midnight is traditionally associated with the household's luck.
The origin of the word Hogmanay is uncertain. Proposed explanations connect it with Norse, French, Gaelic, and Scots terms, but no single etymology is universally accepted. The uncertainty is a frequent source of confusion: the name is well established even though its linguistic history remains debated.
Hogmanay became especially prominent in Scotland partly because Christmas had historically been treated less as a major public holiday than it was in many other parts of Britain. Modern Scottish celebrations range from small family gatherings to large city festivals, especially in Edinburgh.