Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's festival that begins with a torchlight procession through Edinburgh.
Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a multi-day celebration featuring concerts, street parties, fireworks, and traditional customs. Its torchlight procession usually passes through the city before the main New Year's events, creating a river of fire along the historic streets.
The word Hogmanay refers to the Scottish celebration of New Year's Eve and, by extension, associated festivities. Customs vary across Scotland, but “first-footing” is especially well known: the first person to enter a household after midnight traditionally brings symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, or whisky.
Hogmanay is not the same as Burns Night, which honors poet Robert Burns on January 25. Nor is it synonymous with Up Helly Aa, a separate Shetland fire festival held later in winter. Edinburgh's modern celebration combines older Scottish customs with large-scale public entertainment.