The Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration is especially associated with Hogmanay.
Hogmanay is the Scots word for the final day of the year and the term used for Scotland’s New Year celebrations. Customs vary across the country, but they commonly include parties, public gatherings, music, fireworks, and traditions intended to welcome good fortune into the new year.
One famous custom is first-footing. After midnight, the first person to enter a household is traditionally expected to bring symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, or whisky. In some traditions, a tall, dark-haired first-footer is considered especially lucky, although modern celebrations are much less uniform than older customs.
Edinburgh hosts one of the best-known modern Hogmanay events, with concerts and a large street celebration. “Auld Lang Syne,” a song based on a poem associated with Robert Burns, is widely sung at midnight in Scotland and many other countries, but Hogmanay itself is the broader celebration.