What 5 ‘Hidden Gems’ did podIGT find when researching Hogmanay Celebrations?

podIGT was thinking of heading for the wonderful Hogmanay Street Party in Edinburgh to revel in its festive atmosphere, witness the parade, and be enthralled by its spectacular fireworks display but then he heard about alternative, exciting events taking place around Hogmanay, in other parts of the country. Now let podIGT take you on a journey to other parts of this great land where people know how to celebrate in style.

31^st December.

Let’s begin in Inverness, Gateway to the Highlands. Here you can attend the ‘Red Hot Highland Fling’, the largest free New Year party in Scotland. The main evening event takes place at the Northern Meeting Park but during the day families can join in the celebrations in the High Street from midday absorbing the festive atmosphere or witnessing the skills of the street performers. In the evening, the revelries kick off with some amazing bands playing their rousing music; food and drink is readily available and the evening ends with a spectacular firework display over Inverness Cathedral. The Red Hot Highland Fling is a truly unique experience that attracts 10,000 plus visitors each year.

The second hidden gem takes us East of Inverness to Dufftown, known as the ‘Malt Whisky Capital of the World’. Celebrations begin early in the evening when people might gather for a ceilidh in a local hotel, attend a party in the Royal British Legion or perhaps enjoy the festive mood in the company of family or friends. At midnight, everyone gathers in the town square where free shortbread and a wee dram are given out (courtesy of Walkers shortbread and Glenfiddich whisky) to toast in the New Year. The festivities continue into the next day when early morning sees the Dufftown Juvenile Society hold the ‘boy’s walk’ led by the pipe band. The boys will stop at various venues sampling some refreshments before preparing to take part in the Boy’s Ball at night. A truly fitting end to the New Year celebrations of the North!

The third must attend celebration takes place on the east coast of Scotland in the town of Stonehaven and is known as the Fireball Ceremony. Like the ceremony in Inverness, this spectacular celebration is also completely free. This memorable fireball ceremony consists of local people swinging flaming wire cages above their heads. Each cage is filled with combustible material that has been created by the swinger themselves and has a wire handle that is two or three feet long. The parade of some forty plus fireball swingers begins at midnight accompanied by the pipes and drums but people line the streets from around 10 p.m. So popular is the event that in the past some people have been turned away before midnight as there has literally been no room for them. The path followed by the procession goes from the Mercat Cross to the police station then on to the harbour where the balls are tossed into the sea. There are many theories as to where, when and why this ceremony began but tradition continues as a great source of celebration in today’s world.

1st. January

podIGT also discovered that some exciting events take place on the day following Hogmanay celebrations. For one of these events you must head to Orkney, one of the more remote islands north of the mainland. As you stroll down the streets of the capital you will be forgiven for thinking that the town of Kirkwall is about to be invaded. Doors and windows will be boarded up to protect them from the force of nature that is the Orkney Ba’ Game, a game of mass football played for over 50years on the streets of the town by sides known as the Uppies and Doonies. The teams derive their names from living Up-the-Gate or Doon-the-Gate from the Old Norse Road. After a Hogmanay night of celebration, up to 200 hundred men will meet at the Mercat Cross at 1p.m. on New Year’s Day and wait patiently for the leather Ba’ to be thrown into the crowd. A tussle will then begin between the sides to see who can win the Ba’. The Doonies objective is to get the Ba’ into the sea but the Uppies must try to get it to Mackinson’s Corner where the old town gates once stood. The winner will be hoisted up onto the men’s shoulders and receive the Ba’ as the ultimate prize.It was once said that an Uppie win meant a good harvest, while a Doonie success would bring good fishing. A replica game is played earlier in the day by any young boys under the age of sixteen.

11th January

On the 11^th of January make your way to the fishing village of Burghead in Moray and you will be able to celebrate a second New Year in the form of the Burning of the Clavie. This relates back to the 1750’s when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar. There were many riots where people demanded to have their eleven days returned but the people of Burghead saw it as an excuse to have two New Year celebrations and continued to ‘Burn the Clavie, the event whose beginnings are lost in the mist of time. At six o’clock in the evening the ‘clavie’ (a barrel filled with burning wooden staves) will be paraded through the town till it reaches the ramparts of an ancient fort on Doorie Hill. Here it will be allowed to burn out and its embers later collected by locals to bring good luck to the hearths of their homes in the coming year.

Now the only problem for podIGT is to decide which event to attend? Time is running short. What would you suggest or perhaps you have some ideas of your own. You can email your suggestions to [email protected]