The story
Stonehaven Fireballs in Stonehaven
On Hogmanay night, local fireball swingers process down Stonehaven's High Street swinging blazing balls of tar and rags on wire chains, ending at the harbour where the fireballs are thrown into the water. Rooted in older fire rituals meant to see off evil spirits at the year's turn, the ceremony is performed by locals themselves, giving this small Aberdeenshire fishing town's Hogmanay a genuinely community-built character.
Stonehaven closes its High Street each Hogmanay night for a procession found almost nowhere else in Scotland: local fireball swingers walk the length of the street swinging blazing balls of flame on wire or chain, built from tar, rags and combustible material packed into wire cages, before the whole procession ends at the harbour where the fireballs are thrown into the water.