New Years Eve Fire Tradition held at Stonehaven Aberdeenshire parking toilets facilitites times, photos, history and general information about the Hogmanay fireball ceremony:

Stonehaven Fireballs

Each Hogmanay between 45 - 60 people swing fireballs and walk through the High Street towards the harbour at the stroke of midnight.

Wear your old clothes, as the fireballs get quite lively during the parade!

After the procession, at about 12:30am the fireballs are thrown into the harbour, then the firework display at the Bervie Braes commences.

Back at the market square, you can watch the fire jugglers and then there is usually a disco until 2am.

Entry for Aberdeen Race For Life is now open.

Fireball Ceremony

Prior to midnight, there is street entertainment from local musicians, puppeteers, belly dancers and local school bands from about 6pm.

The public toilets at Shorehead are usually open.

Parking restrictions into the town centre are usually enforced, but there are volunteer parking marshals to assist you in finding a safe place to park.

Stonehaven Fireballs

Each Stonehaven fireball weighs about 16 pounds and is made of items such as wood, coal, old clothing, newspapers/cardboard and dried pine cones all packed into a wire frame then sprinkled with a wee bit of paraffin.

Origins Of The Stonehaven Hogmanay Fireballs

The Stonehaven fireball walkers can be traced back to local fishermen performing the ceremony in the 19th Century, though fireball ceremonies in general can be traced back to times before Christianity. The first Stonehaven fireball ceremony took place in 1907.

It is thought that the fire is symbolic to ward of evil spirits and to act as a cleanser.

The movement of the fireball may have symbolised the movement of the sun

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How To Get To Stonehaven

From Aberdeen head towards the Bridge of Dee and follow the signs for the A90.

Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony 2007 - 2008 Information

Hogmanay 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of the Stonehaven fireballs ceremony and the event will be specially marked. More details will follow nearer to New Year 2008. In the meantime see further below for information on the 2007 New Year event.

Stonehaven Hogmanay

TS Marine

Stonehaven Hogmanay 2007 to 2008 is sponsored by TSMarine (Contracting) Ltd, the Aberdeen based oil and gas service specialist who had previously sponsored the Stonehaven Hogmanay for 2006 to see in 2007.

Open Air in the Square

These Stonehaven Hogmanay celebrations start off with Open Air in the Square festivities and to ensure the entertainment of Stonehaven locals and visitors to the North East of Scotland TSMarine have generously donated £10,000 which brings a fantastic start to 2008 as the midnight bells chime. Bringing these Open Air in the Square events is the Stonehaven Hogmanay Festival Committee who volunteer their time and services to ensure that the Stonehaven Hogmanay at the Market Square brings fun and entertaining music and a funfair and delicious food stalls and a well stocked bar that won't run dry as Stonehaven counts down to the year 2008. The New Year stage entertainment starts at about 7pm on the 31 December 2007 and continues through to about 2am on the 1 January 2008.

The Stonehaven Fireballs will once again start at Stonehaven Harbour and the Stonehaven firewalkers will make their may round that area. Though for 2007 there is no need to leave the merriment at the Stonehaven Market Square because there will be screens showing the world famous fireballs live so no need to leave the bar to watch the action! Have a drink, toast the New Year and avoid the crowds by watching the fire balls: though you might miss out on the heat from each passing fireball!

The Managing Director of TSMarine, Mr Alasdair Cowie, told AboutAberdeen.com about the pride that his company takes in sponsoring this traditional New Year event for Stonehaven:

The Stonehaven New Year celebrations are internationally renowned for being high quality traditional family entertainment and as an international company with a local base, we are delighted to be the main sponsor of the festivities for the second year running.

Soaking up the atmosphere in the square and watching the spectacular fireballs is a great way to see in the New Year and I am sure everyone will have a great time!

Read about Hogmanay Customs.

Read about the Burning of the Clavie.

For more information about Stonehaven see www.stonehavenitsspecial.co.uk

More Scottish customs and traditions.

Aberdeenshire Hogmanay.

More Aberdeenshire Festivals.

Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony 2006 - 2007 Information

Over 7000 visitors are expected to see in the 2007 New Year at the Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony. Stonehaven police will be on hang to ensure that the annual event is fun and safe. So there will be several road closures and parking restrictions:

From midday to about 4am the Stonehaven High Street will be closed from Dunnottar Avenue to the Shorehead. There will be parking restrictions all along the High Street.

From 6pm on Hogmanay night the following roads and streets will be closed until the Stonehaven fireball ceremony has finished: Market Square North, from Allardice Street to Margaret Street, Barclay Street, from Margaret Street to Evan Street.

Public entertainment such as fairground rides, music, food stalls and a licensed bar starts at 7pm on the 31 December 2006 at the Square in Stonehaven and finish at about 2am on the 1 January 2007. Music will be provided by Stonehaven and District Pipe Band, Black Matter, Fubar and Xtreme Machine.

There will be no pedestrian access to the Stonehaven piers.
The public toilets at Shorehead, next to the Maritime Rescue Institute, will be open.

2006 Stonehaven Hogmanay saw the Stonehaven market Buildings Bells ring out for the first time for many years. Local Stonehavener Raymond Penny had the privilege of ringing in the bells for 2007.

A common question is How do I become a fireballer at Stonehaven Fireballs? To which the answer is to become a steward at the Fireball parade. When a new vacancy for a fireballer becomes available it goes to the stewards.