It’s the 31st December. The silence of night is suddenly broken by the whisper of flames. The Hogmanay Festival in Edinburgh has begun with 150,000+ people singing Auld Lang Syne at the same time.
It’s pure debauchery as a city empties all its watering holes. This is one of the best places to celebrate New Years Eve and the world’s biggest street party rivalled only by the Carnival in Rio starts. The revellers dance, drink and go totally mental!
As Christmas festivities wind down all over the United Kingdom and Europe, the really spectacular parties in Scotland are just getting underway.
New Year’s is Hogmanay in Scotland – a four to five day hedonistic jamboree, including parties, street festivals, entertainment and wild – occasionally petrifying – fire festivals that are Viking or pagan in origin.
Enormous public New Year’s events in Scotland, with something for the whole family, are held during Hogmanay with the biggest and most famous taking place in Edinburgh.
Origins of 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”.
Hogmanay could also be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon, Haleg monath, Holy Month, or the Gaelic, oge maidne, new morning. But the most likely source seems to be the French. “Homme est né” or “Man is born” while in France the last day of the year when gifts were exchanged was “aguillaneuf” while in Normandy presents given at that time were “hoguignetes”. Take your pick!
Why is Hogmanay so Important in Scotland?
Well, although some of the Hogmanay traditions are very old, the partying was elevated in importance after the banning of Christmas in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Under Oliver Cromwell, Parliament banned Christmas celebrations in 1647. The ban was lifted after Cromwell’s demise in 1660. But in Scotland, the stricter Scottish Presbyterian Church had been discouraging Christmas celebrations – as having no basis in the Bible, from as early as 1583.
After the ban was lifted elsewhere and England began to celebrate Christmas once more, festivities continued to be dampened in Scotland. In fact, Christmas remained a normal working day in Scotland until 1958 and Boxing Day did not become a National Holiday until much later. Incredible, eh?
But the impulse to party, and to put the products of Scotland’s famous distilleries to good use, could not be repressed. In effect, Hogmany became Scotland’s main outlet for the mid-winter impulse to chase away the darkness with light, warmth and festivities. It has gone on to become one of the most spectacular, alcohol-fuelled and wildest of street festivals anywhere in the world.
Top Hogmanay Tip for First Timers
Note: Hostels and hotels are always jam-packed during the Christmas and Hogmanay period so travellers and backpackers alike are recommended to book as early as possible.
