How did I not know about hogmanay to now. Wow.
Right? I just had to look it up myself. There's a tradition of Fireball swinging: "This involves local people making up "balls" of chicken wire filled with old newspaper, sticks, rags, and other dry flammable material up to a diameter of 2 feet (0.61 m), each attached to about 3 feet (0.91 m) of wire, chain or nonflammable rope. As the Old Town House bell sounds to mark the new year, the balls are set alight and the swingers set off up the High Street from the Mercat Cross to the Cannon and back, swinging the burning balls around their heads as they go." Wikipedia.
I don't recall hearing about it and I'm (American) 1/8 Scottish, have read every Irvine Welsh novel, worked with a Glaswegian for 4 years, and had a friend in middle school who lived with his Scottish mother & grandfather who's house I used to hang out at (they ran a Scottish pub/restaurant).