Edinburgh

Beltane Festival

Beltane is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrated around 1 May, historically celebrated in Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is a fire festival that celebrates the coming of summer and the renewed fertility of the coming year.The festival survives in folkloric practices in these nations (and the diaspora), and has experienced a degree of revival in recent decades, not only in the British Isles, but also in countries further afield such as the USA. The word Beltane is thought to have derived from a Gae... Read More
Burry Man of South Queensferry

The Burryman or Burry Man is the central figure in an annual procession which takes place on the second Friday in August in South Queensferry, north of Edinburgh, on the south bank of the Firth of Forth. The custom is associated with, but separate from, the town's Ferry Fair. The meaning and origins of this ceremony are now unclear. The Burry Man himself is a local man almost completely covered, as the image illustrates, in sticky burrs, leaving only the shoes, hands and two eye holes exposed. On the day, h... Read More
Edinburgh Festival

The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for various simultaneous arts and cultural festivals which take place during August and early September each year in Edinburgh. These festivals are arranged by a number of formally unrelated organisations, meaning that there is no single event officially termed the Edinburgh Festival. The oldest festivals are the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, both of which started in 1947. Other more recent additions include the Military Tat... Read More
Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Since it started in 1947, as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, 'The Fringe' has grown to become the world's largest arts festival. The festival covers a wide range of arts, including theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre. opera and others. The Fringe runs for approximately three weeks in August.... Read More
Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Since it started in 1978, the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival has become a major fixture of the city's summer season, attracting the largest audience of any jazz festival in the UK. There are now over 100 concerts during the festival, covering a wide range of jazz and blues forms. ... Read More
Edinburgh Mela

Mela is a sanskrit word meaning ‘gathering’ and is used to describe festivals in the Indian subcontinent.The Scottish Mela festivals are multicultural arts festivals that, while having their roots in South Asian culture, can now best be seen as celebrating wide diversity of cultural life in Scotland, featuring dance, music, crafts, food and fashion, not just from South Asia, but from all over the world. There are two annual Mela festivals in Scotland: one in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Me... Read More
Ferry Fair Edinburgh

As the fair's website states, Queensferry’s annual Fair has been held in its present form since 1930, when it was revived after some years of absence as a regular event. But its roots date back even further for permission to hold the event was originally granted by King Charles 1 back in the year 1687. The Fair is a week-long event and is organised primarily as a festival of sports and entertainments for the children of the burgh, culminating in the crowning of a Ferry Fair Queen who is chosen from the ch... Read More
Heart of Midlothian

The Heart of Midlothian is a stone mosaic built into the cobbled street outside of St Giles near George IV Bridge marks the spot where the old Tolbooth, or town prison used to stand. Some local people continue the tradition of spitting on the Heart when walking past for good luck. See video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32H9WORvpj0 ... Read More
May Day Face Washing, Arthur's Seat

Some people still get up early enough on May Day (1st of May) to climb Arthur's Seat - the extinct volcano at the centre of Hoyrood Park, Edinburgh - to wash their faces in the morning dew as the sun rises. It was believed that this would bring females eternal beauty.... Read More
New Year - coastal/sea

In coastal areas, both boats in harbour and tankers offshore sound their horns at midnight to mark the start of the New Year on 31st December. This is also marked by the ringing of church bells (such as those of the Tron Kirk in Edinburgh's High Street or Royal Mile) onland. ... Read More
Poor-oot

The ‘poor-oot’ (pour out) or ‘scramble’ is a tradition related to weddings. As newlyweds drive off from the church after their wedding ceremony the groom (or new husband) throws handfuls of coins out of the car window. Children then ‘scramble’ in the street to grab the scattered money. Presumably this originally symbolised the new husband sharing his ‘good fortune’ and demonstrating his happiness. The practice has different names in different parts of the country. The term ‘Poor-oot’ is ... Read More
Samhuinn

Samhuinn was an ancient Gaelic harvest festival, marking the arrival of winter. An annual event on Edinburgh's Royal Mile reimagines and celebrates what was a highly significant event in the ancient Celtic calendar. An important element of Samhuinn was the belief that this time of the year was a liminal zone where the barrier between the lands of the dead and living was less distinct than during the rest of the year.... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: BE United Presents Live @ The Fringe

BE United Presents Live @ The Fringe was a series of exciting gigs – hosted as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories – that showcase fresh Black Scottish artists of all genres. The stories that were showcased during the project were varied. Emmanuel Carlos and Tam Tam 2000 told stories of moving to new home, whilst maintaining connection with the old. The stories centred on the journey and of belonging and acceptance. This was done through the medium of dance and talking drums, an art-form widely practi... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Family Encounters - New Stories Strand

Two new stories were performed at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh for the International Children's Festival. "Where are you?" by Theatre Sans Accents was inspired by classic children’s tales such as Redwall and The Animals of the Farthing Wood, in which animals take on human characteristics and fight their animal instincts to face adversity together and survive. Performers explained how the performance aims to ‘put the audience in the place of migrants, moving from place to place’, adding t... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Preserving and Celebrating Edinburgh's Deaf Heritage

Deaf Action exists to support the diversity of deaf people, including deaf users of British Sign Language (BSL), and those who are deafened, deafblind or hard of hearing. Their work is geared towards empowering all deaf people to achieve their potential and fully participate in society, with equality of rights, access and opportunity. Deaf Action have the last remaining deaf centre in Scotland at Albany Street in Edinburgh, and this project aimed to capture stories from the Deaf Community to connect the aud... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Stories from the Kist

Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches organised two storytelling events in May 2022 as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories. A workshop was held for people interested in storytelling to help them develop their storytelling skills with assistance from two highly experienced storytellers, Donald Smith and Ruth Kirkpatrick, who told stories from the many to be found on the TAD/KoR website. ‘Stories from the Kist’ was a special evening of storytelling in Scots and Doric in which three of Scotland’s most gifted... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Stories of Queer Edinburgh

Queer Edinburgh is an oral history project that explores the people and places that have shaped Edinburgh’s LGBTQ+ community and their identities. The findings of this oral history project were presented in a community-led exhibition, a podcast, and a digital map and walking trail entitled 'A Walk around Queer Edinburgh' - https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=19sAplxH8_PQNBoPOEcELO2c0nNy1PRk&ll=55.957679900000024%2C-3.1876245999999964&z=15 A Walk around Queer Edinburgh has been produced as part of ... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: We all have a story to tell

On the 26th of October a series of BSL stories - at turns inspiring, funny, and poignant - were told by Deafblind Scotland members at the Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. You can watch them all here: https://dbscotland.org.uk/year-of-stories-2022/ This event was supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund was delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players. ... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Young Writers, Young Voices - a celebration of youth writing in Scotland

Super Power Agency premiered new works from the pupils of Halyrude Primary (Peebles), Wardie Primary (Edinburgh), Dunfermline High (Dunfermline), Broughton High (Edinburgh) and Tynecastle High (Edinburgh) at this YOS supported event. One by one, young people took to the stage to share their writing, ably supported by those who’ve turned story telling into their profession – author Ian Rankin and comedian Craig Hill. This event was supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fun... Read More
Scots Fiddle Festival

The festival, which takes place over a November weekend (Friday to Sunday) in the Assembly Roooms, Edinburgh, is run by the Scots Fiddle Festival Ltd, with the aim of promoting and sustaining traditional fiddle music. It features a variety of concerts, recitals and workshops. ... Read More
The Meadows Mummers; tradition with a difference.

Among the practitioners in this field are The Meadows Mummers. This Edinburgh-based all-female group have taken the traditional folk drama “Galoshins” (in all its various spellings) and updated it with a modernised and expanded script, written in rhyming couplets, while still respecting its traditional form and Commedia dell'Arte roots. It was associated with Hogmanay, but the Mummers largely perform at community festivals in the summer, so performances are open-air. Through collaborations with the... Read More
Tradfest

Each year Edinburgh is home to Tradfest TradFest celebrates Scotland’s May festivals – Beltane and Mayday – which traditionally mark the beginning of summer, bringing energy and colour to the capital city as the greening of the year breaks out. Venues include Calton Hill, the Royal Mile, The Pleasance, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Filmhouse, Queens Hall, Summerhall, George Square Theatre and Dance Base. The TradFest Trail highlights craft shops, galleries, pub sessions, instrument makers, book... Read More

Can't Find What You Are Looking For?

The content on this site is provided and maintained by people just like you. We need your contributions for this site to represent the wide range of ICH activity taking place in Scotland. If you would like to add an entry to the site, please sign up and become a contributor.