Official site for Edinburgh's New Year celebrations, featuring event listings, and a gallery. Home. Edinburgh's Hogmanay (edhogmanay) Hogmanay.net | Hogmanay.net. Home of Hogmanay 2013 - 2014. Edinburgh's Hogmanay - Edinburgh Festival Guide. The world's best new year celebrations promise four days of events, concerts and spectacles, plus, of course, the famous Street Party with its breathtaking fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle. undefined View all Edinburgh's Hogmanay events Beyond the festivals Exploring Scotland Some of the world's most spectacular scenery and most enduring experiences are just a short trip away. Why not extend your visit to Edinburgh's Festivals and explore Scotland? Learn more Attractions Choose from national collections and international blockbusters to more intimate spaces and exhibits to venues that encourage exploration and adventure.
Learn more Explore Edinburgh The villages of Edinburgh are well worth discovering – each is surprisingly close to the city centre, and a world away from what you might expect. Learn more. Hogmanay Edinburgh | New Years Street Party Celebrations Edinburgh 2013 - 2014. Hogmanay in Edinburgh - New Year - Scotland. Find out what's on in Edinburgh & The Lothians all year round by using the events listings below. Although the festivals run all year round, the summer months - and August in particular - are when festival fever reaches its height. August festivals The Edinburgh International Festival, founded in 1947, is the official centrepiece of Edinburgh’s festivals. Running for four weeks, this performing arts festival has world-class displays of theatre, dance and music. The Festival ends with a spectacular firework display at Edinburgh Castle. Why not play the Suggest My Fest app via the Festival Facebook page to help you choose what you'd like to see at the EIF?
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs alongside the International Festival. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is another August must-see. Another August festival is the Edinburgh International Book Festival, staged in the elegant surroundings of the city centre's Charlotte Square. Film, science and storytelling East Lothian festivals. Hogmanay. Hogmanay (Scots: [ˌhoɡməˈneː], HUG-mə-NAY, Scottish English: [ˌhɔɡməˈneː] HOG-mə-NAY) is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish manner. However, it is normally only the start of a celebration that lasts through the night until the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or, in some cases, 2 January—a Scottish Bank Holiday. Etymology[edit] The etymology of the word is obscure. The three main theories derive it either from a French, Norse or a Goidelic (Insular Celtic) root. Although "Hogmanay" is currently the predominant spelling and pronunciation, a number of variant spellings and pronunciations have been recorded, including:[2] Hoghmanay[1]Hagman(a)e[1][2]Hagmonay[2]Hagmonick[1]Hanginay (Roxburghshire)[1]Hangmanay[2]Hogernoany (Shetland)[1]Hogminay/Hogmenay/Hogmynae[1]Hoguemennay[1]Huggeranohni (Shetland)[1]Hu(i)gmanay[1][2] Possible French etymologies[edit] Possible Goidelic etymologies[edit]
The History of Hogmanay. Only one nation in the world can celebrate the New Year or Hogmanay with such revelry and passion – the Scots! But what are the actual origins of Hogmanay, and why should a tall dark stranger be a welcome visitor after midnight? It is believed that many of the traditional Hogmanay celebrations were originally brought to Scotland by the invading Vikings in the early 8th and 9th centuries. These Norsemen, or men from an even more northerly latitude than Scotland, paid particular attention to the arrival of the Winter Solstice or the shortest day, and fully intended to celebrate its passing with some serious partying. In Shetland, where the Viking influence remains strongest, New Year is still called Yules, deriving from the Scandinavian word for the midwinter festival of Yule. It may surprise many people to note that Christmas was not celebrated as a festival and virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s.
Hogmanay in Scotland | Scottish New Year. Hogmanay (HOG - MUH - NAY) Since biblical times, the time of year around the shortest day has been a period of merrymaking for people in temperate climes around the world. In societies where the day-to-day lives of most people were dictated by the rhythm of the changing seasons, the passing of the longest night heralded the coming of new life to the world. For the ancient Romans, the winter solstice was marked by the festival of Saturnalia, which stretched from the 17th to the 23rd of December. Saturnalia was a time of great celebration, especially for slaves, who would ceremonially switch roles with their masters for the feast. Following Saturnalia, the late Roman New Year began on the 1st of January, giving us our traditional date today and which Scotland has used since 1600. During the Middle Ages, the pre-existing pagan winter festivals were overshadowed by the feasts surrounding Christmas, and the New Year was moved to coincide with Christian holy days.
The word 'Hogmanay' itself is of uncertain origin. New Year's Eve - Hogmanay. What does Hogmanay actually mean and what is the derivation of the name? Why do the Scots more than any other nation celebrate the New Year with such a passion? Why should a tall dark stranger be a welcome first foot visitor after midnight, carrying a lump of coal and a slice of black bun?
The Origins of Hogmanay A guid New Year to ane an` a` and mony may ye see! While New Year's Eve is celebrated around the world, the Scots have a long rich heritage associated with this event - and have their own name for it, Hogmanay. There are many theories about the derivation of the word "Hogmanay". The Scandinavian word for the feast preceding Yule was "Hoggo-nott" while the Flemish words (many have come into Scots) "hoog min dag" means "great love day". "It is ordinary among some Plebians in the South of Scotland, to go about from door to door upon New Year`s Eve, crying Hagmane. " Hogmanay - Edinburgh Hogmanay. In the big cities, you'll find large-scale open air concerts, street parties and spectacular fireworks welcoming 'the bells' (when the clocks chime midnight). Elsewhere, the celebrations are all about community and local events such as dinner dances, ceildhs or just parties held in neighbours' houses which get visited in turn as 'first footers' go from house to house to be the first to wish everyone a good new year.
Fire festivals Hogmanay and the new year is also celebrated with a number of traditional fire festivals that hark back to a more primitive age. The most spectacular of these include the Biggar Bonfire, Comrie's Flambeaux Procession and perhaps the most famous, the Stonehaven Fireball Ceremony. Edinburgh's Hogmanay Edinburgh's Hogmanay is one of the biggest and best New Year celebrations in the world. On Hogmanay itself, the action moves to Princes Street in the very heart of the city of Edinburgh beneath the spectacular backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.
Hogmanay Festival in Scotland. The Hogmanay Festival is essentially a New Year celebration with a dash of Scottish flair. This festival takes place on the 31st of December every year and is phenomenally well supported and raucous. Hogmanay generally starts quite early in the evening, reaching its peak as expected at midnight with the ringing of bells, the singing of the old folk song "Auld Lang Syne" and plenty of good wishes, accompanied by kissing, being showered on all and sundry.
Depending on where you are in Scotland, activities for this festival may vary from folk song singing, dancing, torch light processions, the swinging of fireballs and a number of other activities, which are all combined with lots of laughter and fun for the whole evening and well into the next morning. This celebration dates back as far as the Vikings. Its roots are found in the pagan practice of fire and sun worship during the dark months of winter.
11 Things You Need To Know About Auld Lang Syne. Flooer o the mountain... So here we are then, it's Hogmanay again, an we've made it through anither year. Maist o us made it onyhow, tho many didnae. Hogmanay's aye been a guid time tae stop an mind them that nivver made it through, a sad wee epilogue tae the year, afore we pick oorsels up an face the New Year wi a smile oan oor face... Here, ah'm feelin a bit darin th'day, why dae ah no chuck caution tae the winds an break oot the Black Bun a bit early, eh? Ah'll nivver eat it aw masel onyhow, ah'm no ower-fond o the stuff tae tell the truth, an Mr Pangloss jist turns his nose up at it. Ah really dinnae ken why ah still buy it, but ye ken how it is, some things ye jist hae tae dae, it's Hogmanay! Right then, here's yer tea. an here's yer Black Bun.
Noo, this bein Hogmanay of course, ah couldnae tak ye onywhaur else except up the High Street tae the Tron Kirk. Then some wag wi a watch wid start up a coontdoon tae the actual bells, 10... 9... 8... doon tae twelve o'clock, an then it wis Hurray!