The largest event held in Edinburgh usually kicks off with a torchlight procession. An enormous crowd of celebrants accompanied by pipers and drummers, fire, and fanfare in a river of light wind through the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town culminating in the historic Holyrood Park.
Due to the ongoing global pandemic, the street parties, concerts, dances, and gatherings of Edinburgh's Hogmanay Festival will clearly not take place this year, but organizers have instead come up with a unique, multi-night presentation. Here are the details from the official site:
"As Christmas draws closer and ‘bubble’ celebrations with friends and family start to feel a reality, the next occasion to plan for is New Year. This is a welcome chance to wave off 2020 and hope for an altogether better 2021. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is renowned internationally as one of the leading new year celebrations in the world and this year’s Hogmanay will continue to cement this reputation. With no live events planned this year, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will, for the first time in its history, move to an entirely online celebration with a series of spectacular ‘moments’ to be watched from home.
Produced by Underbelly on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, the free online series of shows promise never seen before, visually-spectacular moments every evening from 28th through to the 1st January. The stay-at-home event series will be FREE to watch and streamed via www.edinburghshogmanay.com so Hogmanay fans all over the world can tune in from the comfort and safety of their homes.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay has wowed, surprised and delighted hundreds of thousands of people over the years and 2020 promises to continue that tradition, with a series of awe-inspiring moments using multisensory creativity and pioneering technology crafted, hosted and narrated by a powerhouse of incredible Scottish talent. The line-up includes internationally renowned actor and famed Doctor Who, David Tennant, award winning poet and Scottish Makar (Scotland’s Poet Laureate), Jackie Kay, Celtic fusion band, Niteworks and Scottish actors Lorne MacFayden and Siobhan Redmond.
Further details will be revealed in the coming weeks as we countdown to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay kick-off on 28th December."
And we hope by the end of 2021, these other charming, in-person New Year's customs will be able to be observed in Scotland. "First footing" is the idea that the first person to cross the threshold of your home is a harbinger of good luck. Starting immediately after midnight, people call on friends, going from house to house for much of the night and even into the morning and next day, with over half the population of Scotland observing the practice of "first-footing." It is good luck for the "first-footer" to be a tall, dark male. Traditionally, this male would bring gifts of a coin (symbolizing prosperity), bread/ black bun fruitcake (symbolizing food), salt (flavor), coal (warmth), or a drink (good cheer). These days, a "first-footer" usually just brings the whiskey!
January 1st is Ne'erday, a contraction of New Year's Day. The celebrating and "first-footing" continue, the annual Loony Dook takes place in the Firth of Forth (a wacky costumed cold plunge for charity), and many Scots still observe the day with a special dinner of steak pie.
Haud Hogmanay, everyone!
https://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/
http://www.visitscotland.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment