Edinburgh's Winter Festivals

St. Andrew's Day commemorates Scotland's patron saint and is a Scottish Bank Holiday, although employers are not obliged to give employees time off. St. Andrew's Day is marked on 30th November every year. If that date is on the weekend, the St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday takes place on the following Monday 1st or 2nd December.

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.

It's probably too early to be talking panto already. Oh no it isn't! The nights are drawing in, and theatre's starry spangled season of loud-coloured sets, men in dresses, leggy boys, raucous bouts of audience participation and, likely, lashings of innuendo to keep the older folk in the audience involved in the proceedings is on its way.

Buses, taxis and cycles are to return to Princes Street by the end of November say Edinburgh City Council.

This year's Hogmanay festival in Edinburgh will premiere a Scottish, multicultural dance and music show "Off Kilter" created by Unique Events (organisers of the Edinburgh Hogmanay event), Dance Base, and the Festival Theatre with £343,000 funding from the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Santa Weekend marks Santa's arrival at West Princes Street Gardens (10am-6pm each day).

Read the 2009 Pantomime and Christmas Shows Preview

If there's one time of year where theatres really go to town with their productions it's christmas. This year's crop of christmas shows at Edinburgh's main theatres spans the traditional panto - Aladdin at the King's Theatre - to a more adult-orientated theatrical version of the Witches of Eastwick at The Playhouse Theatre.

Scotland's national day of celebration sees a weekend long government-sponsored fest in Princes Street Gardens West, dubbed the St. Andrew's DO.

The Scottish Government is building on the St. Andrew's Day

The weather was dreich and X Factor winner and christmas chart-topper Leon Jackson couldn't sing after all because he had tonsillitis, but spirits were far from dampened at last night's Hogmanay festivities in Edinburgh.

For those worried about a repetition of last year's Hogmanay debacle where gale force winds caused the organisers to cancel the Hogmanay celebrations at the last minute, the weather outlook for tonight's bash is relatively encouraging.

The final of one of the oldest professional athletics races in the world takes place today at Musselburgh Racecourse, 6 miles east of Edinburgh. The New Year Sprint final has taken place around New Year's Day annually since 1870. Today racers compete in the 139th event.

The 8th annual Whisky Distillers Fair takes place today at the Scotch Whisky Experience from 11am. Distillers attending the tasting experience include Dewar's, Tullibardine, Bowmore, Tomatin, Glenfarclaus and Bunnahabain.

For those awake, here's some events - all of which happen to revolve around the big, blustery expanse of Holyrood Park - to blow out the cob webs on New Year's Day.

Controversy seems to follow brilliant-but-flawed fiddler Ashley MacIssac - and some of the outrageous stories he has propagated have without a doubt been part of the reason that we have not heard more of him.

Edinburgh's Dogmanay takes place on the first day of each year at Holyrood Park. Edinburgh cannot rely on snow, so teams of Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed and Siberian Huskies from all over Scotland pull custom-made three-wheeled rigs around a set course.

The organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay have reduced the price on the remainder of the 450 or so tickets to the first "Hoog Royale". The introductory New Year's Eve event taking place at the Queen's Hall was formerly priced at £60, but are now £42.50 (£45 including booking fee).

It's St. Andrew's Day today, Scotland's national day, which means the dancing and festivities will be in full flow at West Princes Street Gardens not just until late tonight, but throughout this weekend.

The full line-up for Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party 2007-2008 has been announced.

While for some Edinburgh has almost become synonymous with its annual August arts festivals, its Winter Festivals programme has also expanded in recent years.