Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration traditionally held on New Year's Eve and extending into January 1.
The word refers to Scotland's New Year festivities, which can include street parties, torchlight processions, concerts, fireworks, and the custom of first-footing. In first-footing, the first person to enter a home after midnight is traditionally expected to bring symbolic gifts such as shortbread, coal, or whisky.
Edinburgh hosts one of the best-known modern Hogmanay celebrations, with events around Princes Street and the Old Town. Other Scottish towns and communities hold their own local versions, so Hogmanay is not a single festival confined to one venue.
Its precise etymology is uncertain. Proposed connections include French, Norse, Gaelic, and Scots influences. Hogmanay is also distinct from Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25, and St Andrew's Day, Scotland's national day on November 30.