If any nation knows how to usher in the New Year with a bang, it’s Scotland. To Scots, New Year’s Eve is known as Hogmanay and it’s their biggest celebration of the year. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is one of the largest street parties in the world, but other Scottish cities celebrate in unique fashion, as well.

Three Days of Hogmanay Revelry in Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, the party starts on December 30 with a procession of flaming torches – thousands of them! Throngs of torch-bearers, led by pipes and drums, fill the streets as the spectacular river of fire flows through Edinburgh and along the historic Royal Mile. The mass of torches makes its way to a fireworks finale of light and sound. Travel Maestro tip: Spectators are welcome but you must have a torch and/or a ticket to join the procession.

This great video by Pietro Fabio Fodaro shows the grand scale and exuberance of the torchlight procession and fireworks that open the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh.

On December 31, people from around the world join together for Edinburgh’s renowned Hogmanay street party. Live music on street stages, DJs, street entertainment, as well as plenty of bars and food stalls all along Princes Street help revelers ring in the New Year. At the stroke of midnight, a huge fireworks display lights up the sky above the iconic Edinburg Castle. New and old friends join hands to sing Auld Lang Syne in a national sing-along. Travel Maestro tip: Children under 12 are not allowed at the street party and children under 16 must accompany an adult.

The Concert in the Gardens is another venue for December 31st Hogmanay celebration. Tickets include prime viewing location for the main stage and the fireworks on the grassy banks of Princes Street Gardens. Access to the Street Party is also included. Travel Maestro tip: The Concert in the Gardens is still standing space only. Children under 12 are not allowed.

If you want to dance your way into the New Year, go to the Ceilidh under the Castle. This traditional Scottish Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) of folk music and singing includes a full Ceilidh band to keep you whirling and jigging for hours until the fireworks at midnight. Local foods and drink are featured. Travel Maestro tip: Premium ticket holders get access to a VIP bar area and Ceilidh dancers to show you the steps.

Looney Dook is the January 1 Hogmanay tradition of running into the freezing waters of the Firth of Forth – in crazy costumes, no less. The enthusiastic “Dookers” march the length of High Street before they take the plunge to raise money for charities across the U.K. Travel Maestro tip: The 2018 Looney Dook is sold out, so you’re off the hook!

Other Hogmanay Celebrations

While Edinburgh draws the most revelers, other parts of Scotland celebrate Hogmanay in unique ways also. In Stonehaven, townspeople march through the streets swinging weighty balls of fire – a spectacle worth seeing. Comrie has one of the oldest traditions called the Comrie Flambeaux, where long birch poles are set afire and paraded through the village and then thrown in the river.

The townspeople of Biggar accumulate wood for weeks for a huge Hogmanay bonfire in the center of town. In Dufftown, a.k.a. “the malt whisky capital of the world,” the local Glenfiddich distillery and Walkers biscuit factory treat the community to drams of whisky and pieces of shortbread after the local Hogmanay Ceilidh. Travel Maestro tip: In countries with an “e” in their name, the libation is spelled “whiskey” (with an “e”). If the country name doesn’t have an “e” in it, like Scotland, the drink is spelled “whisky” (without an “e”).

To ring in the New Year with a party like no other, head to Scotland for Hogmanay! Contact the Scotland experts at Covington Travel to make your plans for next year.