Hogmanay: A Scottish Celebration

Edinburgh's Tron Kirk

New Year's Eve may be a big deal in cities all around the world, as people mark the turning of the old year into the new one, but in Scotland the celebration has a character and flavour all of its own. Hogmanay, as the celebration is called, is the Scottish name for the last day of the year, and features all manner of festivities to commemorate the passing of another calendar year.

The origins of the celebration, and indeed the word 'hogmanay' itself, are unclear - it may have links to Gaelic, pagan and even Norse traditions, and over time the celebration has emerged as a truly unique period of festivities and celebration.

Here in Edinburgh, the Hogmanay celebration is especially important, and every year thousands of people descend on the city between Christmas and January to take part in a variety of events and activities. In recent years a torchlight procession, with members of the public carrying flaming torches through the Old Town, and traditional ceilidhs have become especially popular.

​But the highlight of the celebrations is still the annual street party, where around 150,000 people gather on Princes Street to watch a spectacular firework display from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle at midnight. Live music is presented in the city's public gardens, with big-name performers helping to draw the crowds.

Historically, the Old Town of Edinburgh was the focus of the Hogmanay celebrations. Crowds would gather at the Tron Kirk, on the Royal Mile, where the ringing of the bells at midnight helped to welcome in the new year. 

Before we had fireworks, ceremonial cannonballs would be fired from the castle, and on Hogmanay 1571 two cannonballs fell short and landed in Fishmarket Close, just off the High Street. The cannonballs hit the stacks of unsold fish left at the sides of the lane, and the fish were thrown up into the air. For the first week of January 1572, people travelled from all over the city to collect fish from the roofs of the buildings in the area! 

Another traditional feature is 'first footing', where the first visitor to a household in the new year brings with them tokens of wealth, health and luck to bring good fortune to the house. The person who has the honour of first footing the household gets a dram of whisky, and in exchange deposits small gifts of coal, salt, bread, and other valued commodities.

For many years 'wassailing' was a popular way of marking the new year - households would prepare a large bowl of punch with mixed alcohols, spices and herbs, and usually (being the middle of winter) warmed to make it more enticing to drink, and this would be shared with family and friends who came bearing good wishes and songs. At the striking of midnight the punch was fully consumed and finished, toasting the old year in a final farewell - it's as good an excuse as any to finish up the leftover spirits from the past year!

And as well as wishing people a happy Hogmanay, the traditional new year blessing in Scotland is: 'Lang may yer lum reek!' It may sound faintly insulting, but translates as 'long may your chimney smoke' - may you be fortunate enough to always have a fire in your grate.

At public celebrations and ceilidhs it's not uncommon for guests to join in a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne - 'for times gone by' - as the new year begins:

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Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
For auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

---

The tune to which it is sung is a traditional one, but the words (or at least the original version, from which a few alternatives are derived) are those of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet. 

And for many people that will be the abiding memory of Hogmanay in Edinburgh - linking arms with strangers, dancing faster and faster as the pipes skirl and the whisky is poured...

​Whatever your new year celebrations, may the new year be healthy, happy and peaceful for all!

Explore the city with me anytime throughout the year with my private Edinburgh walking tours!