Edinburgh's Hogmanay is the celebration and observance of

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

—the Scottish celebration of the New Year—held in the capital city of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The fireworks display at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

are broadcast on television in Scotland, such as '' BBC Scotland's Hogmanay'', as well as Hogmanay celebration broadcasts by STV.

History

The annual Hogmanay celebration was originally an informal street party focused on the

Tron Kirk The Tron Kirk is a former principal parish church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a well-known landmark on the Royal Mile. It was built in the 17th century and closed as a church in 1952. Having stood empty for over fifty years, it was used ...

in the High Street of the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

. Since 1993, it has been officially organised with the focus moved to

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. In 1996, over 300,000 people attended, leading to ticketing of the main street party in later years up to a limit of 100,000 tickets. In 2003–2004, most of the organised events were cancelled at short notice due to very high winds. Similarly, the 2006–2007 celebrations in Edinburgh were cancelled on the day, again due to high winds and heavy rain. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland The COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland is part of the COVID-19 pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease-2019, caused by the virus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Scotland on 1 M ...

, all organised events were cancelled in June 2020. On 21 December 2021, the events were once again cancelled, after the Scottish government announced limitations on gatherings to control the spread of

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a Variants of SARS-CoV-2, variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has ...

. Outdoor festivities were once again cancelled in 2024 due to forecasts of wind and rain.

Hogmanay celebrations

Edinburgh celebrations

''Hogmanay'' is the Scots word for

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

. In

, New Year's Eve is celebrated with several different customs, such as

First-Foot In Scottish, Northern English, and Manx folklore, the first-foot (, ) is the first person to enter the home of a household on New Year's Day and is seen as a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Similar practices are also found in Greek, ...

ing, which involves friends or family members going to each other's houses with a gift of whisky and sometimes a lump of coal. In Edinburgh, it now covers four days of processions, concerts and fireworks, with the street party beginning on Hogmanay. Alternative tickets are available for entrance into the

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

concert and Céilidh, where well-known artists perform and ticket holders can participate in traditional Scottish céilidh dancing. On

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

the celebrations continue with the

Stoats Loony Dook The Loony Dook is an annual event held on New Year's Day in which people dive into the freezing waters of the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry (north of Edinburgh, Scotland), often in fancy dress. Course of events On New Year's Day, typical ...

parade. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations are among the largest in the world. Celebrations in Edinburgh in 1996–97 were recognised by the Guinness Book of Records at the world's largest New Year party, with approximately 400,000 people in attendance. Numbers have since been restricted due to safety concerns.

Fireworks displays

Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, hosts one of the world's most famous New Year celebrations. The celebration is focused on a major street party along

. The cannon is fired at

at the stroke of midnight, followed by a large fireworks display. Edinburgh hosts a festival of four or five days, beginning on 28 December, and lasting until New Year's Day or 2 January, which is also a bank holiday in Scotland.

Other Scottish cities

Other cities across Scotland, such as

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

have large organised celebrations too, including fireworks at midnight.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Edinburgh's Hogmanay official websiteHogmanay.net"The Origins, History and Traditions of Hogmanay", The British Newspaper Archive, 31 December 2012Hogmanay Traditional Bonfire
Year of establishment missing Festivals in Edinburgh Hogmanay Annual events in Edinburgh Holidays in Scotland New Year celebrations