fsuj25

I'll be flying into Edinburgh on Saturday October 29, the Saturday before Halloween (Monday October 31). I have read online that Halloween is a big deal in Scotland as it started there. I'll still be in Scotland the next Saturday, Nov. 5 which is Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day.

I believe the Bonfire Night events will be on Nov 5 this year as it falls on a Saturday.

My questions are, is it worth it to partake in Bonfire Night in Edinburgh or better to spend it in whichever smaller town/city I end up scheduling for that day? If the day still involves a fair type event during the day followed by the bonfire and fireworks at night I have no problem making an entire day of it, I love experiencing local traditions like this. Presumably Edinburgh will be hosting some big events for the day, but maybe it's a holiday better spent elsewhere.

Is Halloween indeed a big deal in Scotland or am I just reading some overly enthusiastic articles? If it is a big deal, if anyone has any idea of what I might expect, I'd welcome your thoughts.

VickiSoCal

St Andrews has a very large display over the Old Course and on the beach there will be many, many bonfires.

fsuj25

I had not considered the coast. Bonfires on the beach sounds amazing.

VickiSoCal

Well, it could be raining a lot. Most coastal towns will have bonfires on the beach, but given 10,000 university students and a nice wide beach, St A tends to have more than most.

Captain Schmidt

When I was growing up in the 70s, we certainly celebrated Halloween, but not in the Halloween-brought-to-you-by-Hersheys American sense. We typically dunked for apples, made lanterns from turnips and possibly dressed up a little.

These days, the US consumer fest seems to have spread across the globe so you will find elements of it Scotland and the rest of the UK - certain restaurants and bars will definitely get in on the act. Trick-or-treat exists, but you will not see hundreds of little kids dressed up being walked around neighbourhoods filling their buckets with candy as you likely would in US cities.

UKtravelbear

Not every event will be on the 5th. Some will be on the Friday or the Sunday of the weekend.

Swanhunter

As noted above - our family there take their kids out for a bit of trick or treating and there might some commercial stuff going on but Halloween in no way resembles what happens in the US.

fsuj25

this would be exactly the kind of experience I am looking for if it can still be found.

Good to know

Captain Schmidt

I was in Aberfeldy last week and noticed that there is a Halloween event at the Crannog Centre in Kenmore - see link and scroll down to 31 October.
https://visitaberfeldy.co.uk/events/...crannog-centre

OP, depending on where you are going to be on the 31st, you might want to search for something similar. Good luck!

fsuj25

Thank you! I googled the name of the festival and it is indeed the ancient Celtic fall feast that according to Wikipedia is believed to have morphed into Halloween.

I’m not huge into Halloween or paganism but if I’m there during Halloween and I can somewhat piece together the ancient origins of a modern tradition, that would be so cool to me.