Hogmanay 2020: What is Scottish New Year’s Eve? How to celebrate Edinburgh’s Hogmanay?

Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year i.e. New Year’s Eve on 31 December. It is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish way. It is typically followed by an additional festival on the morning of New Year’s Day (1 January) or, at times, 2 January—a bank holiday in Scotland.

New Year’s Eve is a major festival for a huge number of individuals everywhere in the world. However, it is an especially big deal in Scotland where it is called Hogmanay. Festivities happen all over Scotland and last for three days, starting toward the finish of December and finishing on 2 January.

Scottish individuals indeed have two days of the holiday following the celebrations, in contrast to the rest of the UK, which simply has one on New Year’s Day.

What is Hogmanay?

Hogmanay is the Scottish name for new year celebrations. It isn’t known precisely where the word comes from, even though it is believed to come from the French word ‘hoginane’ signifying ‘gala day’. It is thought to have first been used broadly following Mary, Queen of Scots’ re-visitation of Scotland from France in 1561.

Dr. Donna Heddle, a specialist from the University of the Highlands and Islands, clarified: “The name could also come from the Anglo-Saxon ‘haleg monath’ meaning ‘holy month’.”

Some say it could emerge out of the Scandinavian ‘hoggo-nott’ signifying ‘yule’.

However, Dr. Heddle says: “The most likely source seems to be French. In Normandy, presents given at Hogmanay were ‘hoguignetes’.”

The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, however, it very well might be gotten from Norse and Gaelic observances. Customs change all through Scotland, and normally incorporate gift-giving and visiting the homes of companions and neighbors, with special attention given to the first-foot, the first visitor of the new year.

What is First footing?

First footing is a traditional part of Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland, even though it doesn’t occur these days as much as it used to – and is probably going to be more limited in 2021 due to Covid limitations.

First footing is the point at which you visit companions or family immediately after midnight to become the first individual to visit them and go into their home in the new year.

Your very first foot – the first individual to visit you in the new year – ought to traditionally be a tall, dark-haired man. That is said to go back to the Viking intrusions, as Vikings were typically fairer haired, so the appearance of a blondie man might have implied imminent risk!

It could likewise have roots in pagan traditions of denoting the appearance of the dark half of the year and collaborating with the mysterious realm of darkness and spirits and mollifying them with food and hospitality.

Black bun – a dark rye bread – is traditionally given as a first footing gift to guarantee that individuals living in the house you’re visiting don’t go hungry in the year ahead.

First footers likewise customarily bring a lump of coal to guarantee the house stays warm in the coming months.

In front of the new year, it is likewise traditional for individuals to clean their homes and eliminate any old ashes in the fire. This symbolizes getting out of the old year to welcome in the new one.

Where did Hogmanay come from?

The enormous Hogmanay celebrations go back to pagan times a long time prior when individuals used to mark the finish of the harvest and the year’s end with a celebration called Samhain.

Afterward, this became a midwinter Yule celebration, which proceeded with when Catholicism became the country’s main religion. The period of celebrations got known as the ‘daft days’ with individuals eating and drinking lots, appreciating parties and bonfires, and visiting and hosting neighbors.

Yet, in 1560, there were lots of arguments about how the Christian religion should be practiced in a period known as the Reformation.

Individuals getting religious changes didn’t favor all the partying and they prohibited or strongly debilitate feasts that were related to Catholicism, including Christ’s Mass – that is, Christmas.

By 1640, an Act of Parliament had formally prohibited the Christmas break, so it is believed that this is the thing that pushed all the partying and fun to New Year instead.

Even though this Act was mostly removed in the late seventeenth century, the new year remained the big moment for celebrating in Scotland. It was distinctly in 1958 that Christmas became a public holiday in Scotland – later than the rest of the UK.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebration 2020

Edinburgh’s world-famous Hogmanay celebrations have gone online this year with a beautiful drone display.

Celebrations may be distinctive this year yet that doesn’t mean we can’t make some great memories! For the first time, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is bringing the party online from 28 December 2020 – 1 January 2021 with an entire host of virtual events to anticipate.

For more than three nights, a series of free, online shows will be hosted on edinburghshogmanay.com with fans from everywhere over the world ready to appreciate an outwardly fantastic occasion! Described by a fantastic group of Scottish talent, the line-up included actors David Tennant, Lorne MacFayden, and Siobhan Redmond; Scots Makar Jackie Kay and Celtic fusion band Niteworks.

At the point when the clock strikes 12 AM, accumulate your loved ones virtually to raise a toast to a lot brighter 2021 where we would like to celebrate in style once more.

Released in three sections, an special film dependent on a poem from Scots Makar, Jackie Kay, will flaunt the UK’s biggest swarm drone display with more than 150 drones taking to the skies across Scotland, with the last part being appeared on December 31.

Parts one and two of the special drone show, entitled Fare Well, which features music from Isle of Skye band Niteworks, have just been posted online for Hogmanay fans from around the globe to appreciate.

Fare Well, which additionally includes a performance from Scottish acting legend David Tennant, will take watchers on a staggering journey through Scotland from the Highlands to Edinburgh.

While part one and two of Fare Well taken a gander at the year passed by, the finale turns from the celebration of Hogmanay, the year’s end, and looks with optimism to the future.

Taking motivation from a poem by Robert Burns (Sketch New Year’s Day), Scots Makar Jackie Kay echoes Burns’ inquiry concerning the night of Hogmanay and asks what did ‘yesternight deliver’ and like Burns, finds that there is trust and that it is found in nature.

The drones in Part 3 portray a series of pictures including a baby representing the rebirth of a new year; two hands contacting contact, featuring how associated we are; and an eagle soaring above Edinburgh, interfacing us with nature.

The finale will finish up with the words ‘WE ARE ONE – 2021’ – an emotive and hopeful message from the group behind the film that, together, we can build a superior future.