Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony
Stonehaven’s Hogmanay Fireballs Ceremony is one of Scotland’s most memorable fire festivals.
The idea behind the ceremony is to burn off the bad spirits from the old year so that the spirits of the New Year can come in clean and fresh.
Although the event was first documented in 1908 it is thought to date back around 150 years, with some believing it hails from pagan times.
Entertainment including music from local pipe bands and drummers begins at 22:00 as a 10,000 strong crowd begins to gather. The fireballs themselves are lit on the Shorehead as the midnight bells chime out around the Auld Toon then the 45 local participants walk up and down the High Street swinging fireballs around their heads in a breath taking 25-minute procession swinging their fireballs around their heads. Each swinger dramatically throws their fireball into the harbour to extinguish it and then follows a spectacular fireworks display lighting the sky from the cliffs above.
22:00 Entertainment begins
00:00 Fireballs are lit and procession begins
00:25 Last fireballs are thrown into the harbour followed by a fireworks display.