{"id":79,"date":"2013-05-30T06:17:27","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T06:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/hogmanay-new-years-eve-in-edinburgh\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:18:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:18:26","slug":"hogmanay-new-years-eve-in-edinburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/hogmanay-new-years-eve-in-edinburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogmanay \u2013 New Years Eve in Edinburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a long time I assumed Hogmanay was something everyone celebrated over the New Year period. This probably has a lot to do with growing up with a Scottish mother who, despite now living in Australia for almost 40 years, has held onto a number of traditions from her motherland and has endeavoured to pass them on to her children \u2013 Hogmanay being the richest of these traditions.<\/p>\n

While most Australians would argue that Sydney Harbour has the monopoly when it comes to New Years Eve, the truth (at least in my eyes) is that Scotland has turned the yearly celebration into something of an art form. The Hogmanay celebrations throughout Scotland neither begin nor end at New Years Eve, instead encompassing the days before and after to create a pretty magical cultural event.<\/p>\n

So as the son of a Scot and veteran of many an Australian Hogmanay celebration, I felt it was my cultural duty a couple of years ago to head to Edinburgh and make sure I was celebrating New Years the \u201ccorrect\u201d way.<\/p>\n

Every year on the 31st<\/sup> December the city of Edinburgh shuts down the CBD for a massive street party. The party, complete with concerts, dancing and fireworks, is a limited-number, ticketed affair and is usually sold out well in advance thanks to the popularity of the celebration. If squashing in with hundreds of thousands of other people while fireworks light up one of the most beautiful skylines in the world is your thing, I recommend you sign up on the official Hogmanay site here<\/a> (and buy tickets as soon as they\u2019re available). It’s a good idea to book your accommodation well in advance too. Christmas and New Years Eve are busy times. Check out Expedia’s Top Trending Edinburgh Hotels<\/a> for a few options.<\/p>\n

 
\n
\nBut if big crowds aren\u2019t your thing (and they weren\u2019t mine when I visited Edinburgh), there\u2019s definitely different ways to spend the festival. Here\u2019s a couple of things you might want to consider instead of the street party:<\/p>\n

First of all it\u2019s important to remember that Hogmanay to the Scots is at least a four day event. Rather than scrambling for New Year\u2019s Eve tickets, take advantage of the celebrations on the 30th<\/sup>\u00a0December and the first two days of January. The Edinburgh wheel, a huge Ferris Wheel set up each year on Princes Street, is a great way to see the city.<\/p>\n

On New Year\u2019s Eve itself, stay out of the city and celebrate from one of Edinburgh\u2019s many vantage points. The city is famously built on seven hills and climbing one of these to watch the fireworks is a must. I spent my New Years Eve on top of Corstorphine Hill in the city\u2019s west and the view was spectacular.<\/p>\n

Before you climb the hills, do as the locals do and book a New Years Eve dinner in one of the various pubs and restaurants around the city. Most will put on a massive spread for Hogmanay and many have live music throughout the night.<\/p>\n

For the next day, you also can\u2019t go past a tradition Scottish fry-up for breakfast. Tattie scones, scotch sausage, buttery baps, fried black pudding and bacon and eggs may not be the healthiest of fares, but New Years Day seems like the perfect time to indulge.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\nAnd finally \u2013 and most importantly considering I\u2019m the music blogger for Expedia \u2013 make sure you learn the words to the most famous Scottish song of all time and sing it loud and clear as the clock strikes twelve:<\/p>\n

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,<\/i><\/p>\n

and never thought upon;<\/i><\/p>\n

The flames of Love extinguished,<\/i><\/p>\n

and fully past and gone:<\/i><\/p>\n

Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,<\/i><\/p>\n

that loving Breast of thine;<\/i><\/p>\n

That thou canst never once reflect<\/i><\/p>\n

On Old long syne.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

On Old long syne my Jo,<\/i><\/p>\n

On Old long syne,<\/i><\/p>\n

That thou canst never once reflect,<\/i><\/p>\n

On Old long syne.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australians would argue Sydney Harbour has the best New Years Eve, but Scotland has turned the yearly celebration into something of an art form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,6,28,2],"tags":[119,120],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebration","category-destination","category-europe","category-experiences","tag-edinburgh","tag-new-years-eve","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHogmanay Edinburgh New Years Eve | Expedia.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Australians would argue Sydney Harbour has the best New Years Eve, but Scotland has turned the yearly celebration into something of an art form.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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