Ahead of me, there is just a sea of flickering flames. Behind me, the same. Fire as far as the eye can see. And yet these are peaceful flames. Happy flames, even, being carried by smiling people from all over the world as they parade through the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, after dark. The torches they carry — made of burlap and beeswax — flicker and sputter in the wind, casting shadows and coating every surface with a thin layer of melted wax. As I join in with my own torch behind a band of fire-toting Vikings, I can't help laughing out loud. This is something you would never see in America. * * * In Edinburgh, however, the Torchlight Procession is an annual event, marking the beginning of the city's Hogmanay celebrations to ring in the New Year. As I've mentioned before, Scotland doesn't just dedicate one day to the passing of the year. Here, Hogmanay lasts for three. It's with thousands of flaming torches — more than 7,000 in 2012 — that Hogmanay...