Hello all!
Tonight was the start of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebration. Hogmanay is the pagan celebration of the New Year, and in Edinburgh takes place December 30 through January 1. The celebration opens with the torchlight procession down Princes Street and up Calton Hill, followed by fireworks, of course.
People lined up, waiting for the bagpipe and drum corp, followed by vikings carrying torches, followed by thousands of people carrying torches, which you can buy for 10 pounds if you do so early enough.
This is what it looked like when all the torches were walking by.
The bagpipe and drum corp, which was followed by a hundred or so vikings carrying some pretty heavy duty torches, lighting the way for the opening of Hogmanay.
Though we did not buy a torch, all are invited to walk along and make their way up to Calton Hill for the fireworks. We joined along for the march, but realized at the base of the hill, not everyone was going to fit, so made our way to a better vantage point for the fireworks.
An amazing amount of fire being carried by people.
It was quite extrodinary the amount of people carrying melting beeswax torches, this would never be allowed in the States, it is an amazing thing to witness. How there are not people just running around in flames neither of us understood.
Fire fire everywhere. Lili was praying that her pigtails wouldn't go up in flames.
Lili ran into some friends from university, and even one of her teachers, who himself resembles a viking.
Not only are people carrying torches, but fire dancers along the side of the road up to the hill, literally fire everywhere.
Either a religious dunk tank, or barrels of water to extinguish your torch for when it burns down too much, handle first of course. There was a woman who put hers out due to being vertically challenged and multiple people complaining to her that she was about to light them on fire.
Vikings wandered the streets, not as menacing as one would imagine.
The finale of the night, 4 minutes of fireworks. Not up to Disney standards, but fun none the less. Not even all the torches made it to the top there were so many people.
That was all for tonight, tomorrow we brave the street party on Princes Street, with Lily Allen headlining the mainstage, followed by fireworks from Edinburgh Castle at midnight. We hope to make it all the way to midnight on Princes Street, but if not we know of some good vantage points of the castle fireworks to retreat to.
More soon!
-L&A
