Edinburgh Events

Christmas, or Xmas for non-believers, used to be a quiet period in Edinburgh. It's less so now, although (Edinburgh's Hogmanay aside) it's still not quite as mad as the hurlyburly of the Edinburgh Festival in August.

Grab a torchlight and your blonde wig, and join a bunch of noisy, hairy vikings and Scotsmen as they drag a viking warship up Edinburgh's Calton Hill. A 15,000 strong crowd is expected to wend its way from the Edinburgh Old Town down to Princes Street, to Waterloo Place and up to the ancient Edinburgh meeting ground, Calton hill.

Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a four-day winter festival that takes place at the end of each year. In 2009-2010, the Hogmanay festival has an additional day.

The Premiere of Edinburgh Hogmanay's Off Kilter sees artistic director Morag Deyes draw together world class choreographers, dancers, musicians and visual artists under a multicultural Scottish banner. Off Kilter, a specially commissioned work funded by the Scottish Government, plays each day of the five-day Hogmanay festival (see end for times).