Scotland's Winter Festival is an annual, nationwide festival that takes place across the winter months of November, December and January. Three particular events are highlighted:

Saint Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November, during Scotland's Winter Festival. Saint Andrew is the disciple in the New Testament who introduc ...

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 ...

and

Burns night A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), the author of many Scots poems. The suppers are usually held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, known as Burns Night (; ) ...

Background and Participation

Winter has always been an important time in the Scottish calendar, encompassing many cultural events and historical traditions, such as

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

and

Beltane Beltane () or ''Bealtaine'' () is the Gaels, Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the March equinox, spring equinox and summer solstice. Historically, it was widely ...

- including the three national days of St Andrews Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night. Scotland's Winter Festival works these events into a winter long festival across Scotland. In 2017 the festival encompassed 23 events across 17 local authority areas. The events included are wide-ranging, from a "festival of lights" at the

Scottish Maritime Museum The Scottish Maritime Museum is an industrial museum with a Collection Recognised as Nationally Significant to Scotland. It is located at two sites in the West of Scotland in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Irvine and Dumbarton, with a focus on Scotland' ...

& Harbourside, to a variety of Hogmanay events across Scotland.

References

Annual events in Scotland Tourist attractions in Scotland Culture of Scotland Festivals in Scotland Hogmanay Robert Burns {{UK-festival-stub