Happy New Year – Holiday Flashback – Hogmanay 2007/08
We would like to wish all our followers a happy and prosperous New Year. As we usher in 2015 in a little over 10 hours (Brisbane time) I wanted to give you a quick flashback to our fabulous New Years celebration in 2007/2008.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay
Edinburgh in Scotland holds the record for what may be one of the biggest New Years Festivals in the world. The annual Hogmanay celebration is three days of events and celebrations culminating in the Hogmanay Street Party on New Years Eve.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is three days of events and parties.
If you have ever dreamed about celebrating New Years amongst over 100,000 of your nearest and dearest than Hogmanay is your destination.
The opening event of the Hogmanay festival is the Torchlight Procession. The procession takes its rise from the ancient customs amongst the pagan and viking parties, which would often include lighting bonfires.
The Hogmanay Torchlight Procession however is a wonderful spectacle – over 35,000 people walking through the streets of Edinburgh with blazing torches culminating up on Calton Hill with a huge bonfire and fireworks display.
The Hogmanay torchlight procession – just you and 34,999 other people wandering the streets of Edinburgh with ‘totally’ safe wax torches
Just try to avoid thinking about any OH&S issues with 35,000 wax torches + synthetic winter jackets – it is not worth the worry! Plus there are people wandering around the edges with fire extinguishers.
The main event however is the Street Party – an event that has in the past drawn in almost 200,000 participants (though this has recently been scaled back to a still decent 80,000). Hogmanay has actually been voted one of the “Top 100 things to do before you die”.
It is hard to adequately explain the size of this event and the sheer volume of this many people crammed into the streets of Edinburgh. My best advice is to carve out a spot on Princess Street and defend it! It actually turned out to be a pretty sober New Years purely due to the difficulty in getting to a drink stall and the lines!
The Hogmanay Fireworks display at midnight is something to behold, with fireworks from Edinburgh Castle and Carlton Hill the skyline is lit up from all directions
If the idea of being crammed in with 75,000 other revellers is not to your taste don’t feel discouraged there are a number of other side events that coincide with the street party – the Concert in the Gardens is a popular event with many big names bands and artists performing each year. Also The Keilidh on the Mound is well worth checking out regarded as the world’s largest outdoor New Year ceilidh (though I am not sure who is ever likely to challenge that record!).
If you are looking for something a little more refined and a more mature atmosphere the Candlelit Concert at St. Files’ Cathedral is always popular – what could be better than seeing in the New Year with the classical masterpieces from J.S.Bach and Mozart?
It is not all parties and drinking, the streets of Edinburgh are alive during the days of Hogmanay. A real carnival atmosphere with rides and activities virtually on every street.
After such an amazing night, you will surely be looking for something to do on New Years Day – first up is the Loony Dook swim will help clear any hangover – the annual “dip” in the River Forth….just remember it is winter so it might be a little cold.
However you choose to celebrate the New Year definitely put Hogmanay into your Travel Log as a MUST VISIT. This festival is not all about getting drunk (though there is a little alcohol available..) it is a fabulous celebration of everything Scottish and also a fabulous opportunity to party and celebrate with friends.
Regarded as one of the must visit events in the world. Make a trip to Edinburgh to see in the New Year. Scotland in December is a beautiful landscape – cold for sure but for some reason that just makes it better.
On behalf of all of us here at JustMyTravelBlog we would like to wish you all the best for New Years and wish you the best for 2015; Start planning now to make 2015 the year you get out there and see the world for what it is:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain.
Farewell 2014 and Welcome 2015
