Other Hogmanay Highlights

It's not just Scotland's capital that knows how to throw a New Year celebration! Here are some fantastic and unique ways to 'bring in the bells' in other parts of Scotland.

A Red Hot Highland Fling in Inverness

© Scottish Provincial Press

Scotland's biggest free Hogmanay celebration can be found in the capital of the Highlands, Inverness. The family-friendly Red Hot Highland Fling will be celebrating this year on the banks of the River Ness in Northern Meeting Park, with music and fireworks more than entertaining the crowds. The top billing is always on stage before 10pm so that families can get home to see in the bells.

Stonehaven Fireballs

In Stonehaven they really turn up the heat at New Year! One of many winter fire festivals unique to Scotland, this fireballs parade in Aberdeenshire is a powerful spectacle to behold. It's a free Hogmanay event which has been celebrated for over 100 years and it always attracts a large crowd. Traditionally, it was a cleansing ritual to burn off any bad spirits left from the old year so that the New Year can begin clean and purified. Watch in awe as the piper leads the procession marching down the street just before midnight as they swing balls of fire above their head in the ultimate test of bravery.

The Biggar Bonfire

An enormous pile of wood gradually starts to stack up in Biggar town centre in the final weeks of the year in preparation for the South Lanarkshire town's own New Year celebration. Lit at 9.30pm on New Year's Eve, Biggar Bonfire sees the welcoming of a New Year by the townsfolk in a warm, fiery glow.

Drams in Dufftown

Dufftown in Speyside is known as the 'malt whisky capital of the world'. While most of its New Year celebrations are much the same as you would find in small towns and villages up and down the country, it has its own special twist. After the annual Hogmanay ceilidh at a local hotel, the community gathers in The Square where drams of whisky and pieces of shortbread are shared out to see in the bells, courtesy of the local Glenfiddich distillery and Walkers biscuit factory. Slainte!

Aberdeen's Traditional Scottish Hogmanay

For something a little different, book a ticket to Hogmanay Live! in Aberdeen with two shows at the Tivoli Theatre - an evening of traditional Scottish music with Graham Geddes and friends, followed by a second show of Dancing on Tables, a five-piece indie-pop band from Dunfermline. Or enjoy a traditional Hogmanay ceilidh at the Beach Ballroom.

Burghead's Burning of the Clavie

The residents of Burghead in Moray don't celebrate their New Year on 31 December. Instead, they ignore the Gregorian calendar introduced in the 1750s and continue to celebrate 'old Hogmanay' on 11 January instead. They parade the clavie - a wooden barrel filled with wooden staves - through the town before setting it alight on a nearby hill, smouldering well into the next day. The origins of the festival are subject to debate, but as it takes place later than the official New Year's Eve, it's the perfect excuse to celebrate twice!

Comrie Flambeaux

Like many of Scotland's famous fire festivals, the Comrie Flambeaux is likely to be pagan in origin - when fire was used to warn away evil spirits of the old year - but no one in this Perthshire village is certain of when it first began. On New Year's Eve, eight or so lit torches, some nearly 10 ft in height, parades around the small village at midnight. The procession is accompanied by music, people in fancy dress and general merriment and celebration before the torches are thrown into the River Earn.

Hogmanay House

As the new year begins, celebrate the magic and origins of Hogmanay at Lauriston Castle with musicians, magicians and storytellers. Located in secluded grounds on the outskirts of Edinburgh, this stunningly beautiful castle is rich in history with spectacular views over the Firth of Forth. Explore its opulent rooms, secret passages and hidden chambers as you uncover some of the weirdest and most wonderful Hogmanay traditions from around Scotland from the 2nd - 5th of January. Hogmanay House is part of Magicfest.