The New Year is welcomed in by cultures around the world; enjoying large parties and celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next in a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years.
Around the world New Year’s Eve may have different names in different languages and cultures; in Scotland the celebration is called Hogmanay, and though this is celebrated in towns and cities across the country, Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, is the location for the most famous and one of the world’s most popular Hogmanay events.
When and Where are the Hogmanay Celebrations in Edinburgh?
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations take place every year and have done so for decades. Since 1993, when the city realised just how popular this event was becoming, Hogmanay has been an officially organised event for which tickets are sold. Barring extreme weather conditions (which have been known to cancel the celebrations), Hogmanay in Edinburgh is a lengthy celebration, going on for up to four days!
The exact dates for the 2009/2010 Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations are yet to be announced but the most popular night is by far December 31st.
Edinburgh is a beautiful city where many popular events take place throughout the year – the Edinburgh Fringe, the Beltane Fire Festival, and the Edinburgh Film Festival, to name a few. As well as the festivals and events Edinburgh has much to see and do and accommodation within the city centre is always in high demand. The city centre has many great places to stay, and are suitable for all budget levels but if you’re planning to come for Hogmanay and want to stay in the centre you’ll need to book your accommodation early! Of course there are many places to stay on the outskirts of the city too, so you could always consider hotel or B&B accommodation here too.
What is Hogmanay?
Aside from the obvious answer – celebrating the New Year – Hogmanay is a traditional celebration that has its roots thousands of years ago (see A History of Hogmanay, below). Today, celebrating Hogmanay in Edinburgh means watching spectacular fireworks displays, being treated to live performances, enjoying street parties, and watching street theatre, plus of course lots of general merry making!
The exact line-up of events changes somewhat from year to year. Visitors may come from all over the world to stay for the whole four days, while others may come just for New Year’s Eve. Whatever you decide to come for you’ll be treated to a great line-up of events. To give you an idea of what might be in store this year, here is more information on the popular 2008/9 Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh…
29th December – Torchlight Procession
Attracting a crowd of 25,000 spectators, the Torchlight Procession is always a very popular part of Hogmanay. Winding through some of the city’s best known streets, the Torchlight Procession lights up Edinburgh; with fire sculptures and thousands of torchlights and flames of varying shapes and sizes being waved around. The sounds of traditional Scottish pipes and drums resonated throughout the streets of Edinburgh and the beautiful procession was ended with a spectacular fireworks display, setting the theme for more evenings of family fun here in Edinburgh!
30th December – Family Hoog
A Ceilidh with a difference, the Family Hoog was an event aimed at families and children ages 9 and up, and took place in the George Assembly Rooms. If you’re unsure of what exactly a Ceilidh is, it’s a traditional Gaelic social dance that’s still popular throughout Scotland to this day. There are many different dances that are danced to some great music that often includes tin whistles, flutes, fiddles and more, and the steps are easy to pick up. These dances are a great way of getting people together and having a fabulous time, and each Hogmanay in Edinburgh there is usually at least one Ceilidh going on!
30th December – The Dancin’
This free event was a celebration of everything dance! 10,000 people turned up to see the show that took place on an outdoor stage and featured all kinds of different dances, vibrant costumes, pyrotechnics and more!
31st December – Lots of different events!
Being New Year’s Eve, many of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay events took place on December 31st. These included the famous
Street Party, an event which lasted four hours, and took place over four stages with live music, lasers, dancing and partying. Revellers were treated to fireworks every hour on the hour, and of course the climax of fireworks at midnight.
The street party is on Princess Street, Edinburgh City Centre and has a £10
admission fee which can be brought from the official
Hogmanay website.
This years Concert in the Gardens line up includes the pop kings
Madness and "very special guests" yet to
be announced. Tickets for the Concert in the Garden £37.50-£42.50 (+booking fee)
Off Kilter, another of Hogmanay's events, brings together a unque
combination of traditional Highland, ballet, hip-hop, Indian classical and
contemporary dance, promising an exhilarating experience.
For those who wouldn’t get a ticket to these events, numerous other events
are also on too. There were several live concerts focusing on different kinds of music, and of course there were several Ceilidhs going on as well for those who wanted to dance the night away!
1st January
The fun didn’t end on New Year’s Eve as New Year’s Day always offers a variety of family fun events too. For 2008/9 these included a kid’s bicycle race, and a selection of outdoor performances by Scottish artists. One tradition not to be missed on New Year’s Day is The Loony Dook. This is when hundreds of people go for a dip in the freezing waters of the River Forth, many in aid of charity. Perhaps you could be persuaded too?!
A History of Hogmanay
The way we celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh today has probably changed somewhat since its origins thousands of years ago, but the idea is still the same – to have a good time!
Hogmanay is thought to have links with the celebration of the winter solstice, originally a Norse celebration; combined with the Gaelic New Year’s celebration of Samhain, and although Hogmanay has been celebrated for hundreds of years there was a period in history when all this revelry was frowned upon.
The Protestant Reformation, which began in the early 1500’s, was a serious time for religion around Europe and this drove the Hogmanay celebrations underground. Although the Reformation ended in 1648 it took until near the end of the 17th century for Hogmanay celebrations to become more public again. Now of course there’s no holding back!
Edinburgh is not the only place in the world in which Hogmanay is celebrated, but the great range of events that are available at Edinburgh, and the fact that this is the capital of Scotland, make this probably the most popular place to celebrate it in the world.
If the large crowds that are attracted to Edinburgh sound a little too much for you, why not try one of the other cities in Scotland? Dundee, Stirling, Glasgow, and Aberdeen all hold large Hogmanay celebrations too, as do many of the smaller towns. The town of Stonehaven, in north east Scotland, has a famous annual fireball swinging event for example.