Hogmanay is the 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 January) or in some cases, 2 January—a Scottish bank holiday.

Highlighted as one of the ‘Top 100 things to do before you die’ and recently the only festival to appear in the ‘Discovery Channel – Top 25 World Travel Experiences’, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party is one of the world’s greatest New Year celebrations.

There are many customs, both national and local, associated with Hogmanay. The most widespread national custom is the practice of first-footing, which starts immediately after midnight.

⇒ Also сheck оut мore info: edinburghschristmas.com • Explore

As in much of the world, the largest Scottish cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – hold all-night celebrations, as do Stirling and Inverness. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations are among the largest in the world.

Edinburgh in the winter festive season is also huge with various concerts and other activities taking place starting a couple of weeks before Christmas and running up to a week into January. Princes Street Gardens (map) play host to a Big Wheel, outdoor ice rink and various festive markets. As in most of the rest of Scotland, Hogmanay, the New Year celebrations, are the main focus of the festive season rather than Christmas.

⇒ Read more in our article on Edinburgh.

One night before on December 30, a torchlight procession takes place with Calton Hill (map) as final destination where fireworks will be on display. On the night itself whole sections of central Edinburgh are roped off and accessible only by ticket for the Hogmanay street party, which takes place across several stages and is easily the largest in Scotland.

Hogmany and Edinburgh fit together like hand and glove. On day one of the new year, you can watch or if you are brave enough take part in the Loony Dook in South Queensferry (people taking a dip in the ice-cold River Forth).

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TRAVELINE – Provides online travel planner services for all public transportation across Great Britain. They also have separate planners dedicated to specific regions.

⇒ Also сheck оut мore info: Getting Around Edinburgh (edinburgh.org) • GETTING AROUND SCOTLAND (visitscotland.com) • Getting around Britain (visitbritain.com).

BUS: Lothian Buses • First Group – buses around the city and suburbs. National Express | UK Stop finder

TRAIN: The essential source for rail travel information in Great Britain is the National Rail website. It includes an extremely useful journey planner, ticket prices and detailed information about every railway station in the country.

AIRPORT: Edinburgh Airport – from / to the airport > Airlink100. airportguides.co.uk. The most important airports are London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester Airport.

FERRY: There are many ferry routes into the UK from continental Europe. (*Ferry routes to Great Britain)

Join the party at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay with 3 days of spectacular events to enjoy and what better way to bring in the bells by watching the incredible fireworks display from Princes Street Gardens.

Hogmanay also goes hand in hand with countless customs and important traditions. Welcome in the New Year by singing Auld Lang Syne where everyone crosses their arms and sing to bid farewell to last year! The ‘first foot’ in the house after midnight is also another very common tradition in Scotland. To ensure good luck, a first footer should be a dark-haired man. Traditional gifts include a lump of coal to place on the host’s fire, along with shortbread, a black bun and whisky to toast the New Year in.

⇒ video source: VisitScotland / youtube.com /

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