Which Scottish New Year's Eve festival is known as Hogmanay?

Scotland’s New Year’s Eve celebration is called Hogmanay.

Hogmanay is the Scottish name for the last day of the year and the festivities surrounding it. Celebrations commonly continue into New Year’s Day and sometimes beyond. Its customs combine older winter traditions with later Scottish practices.

One famous custom is “first-footing,” in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is believed to influence the household’s luck. Traditionally, a first-footer might bring gifts such as coal, shortbread, salt, or whisky. The ideal visitor was often described as a dark-haired man, although modern celebrations are much less restrictive.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is among the world’s best-known New Year festivals, featuring torchlight events, concerts, and fireworks. Hogmanay is not the same as Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25, or St Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day on November 30.