Hogmanay is the Scottish word for the New Year's Eve celebration associated especially with Edinburgh.
Although Hogmanay is celebrated across Scotland, Edinburgh's festival is internationally famous for its torchlight procession, street festivities, concerts, and midnight fireworks. The modern large-scale celebration developed during the late twentieth century and became a major event for visitors from around the world.
The origin of the word Hogmanay is uncertain. Proposed explanations have connected it with Scandinavian, French, Gaelic, and Scots linguistic influences, but no single derivation is universally accepted. Scottish New Year customs also include “first-footing,” in which the first person to enter a home after midnight is believed to influence the household's luck. The song “Auld Lang Syne,” written from a Scots poem and tradition, is commonly sung at the turn of the year.