Beat the January Blues in Glasgow

Following the big celebrations of Hogmanay and welcoming the New Year with friends and family, it can feel difficult to return to work, everyday routines, and the grey, damp weather that often accompanies the month of January. However, there are plenty of ways to beat the January blues when you’re in Glasgow.

Running from 14–31 January 2026, the world-famous Celtic Connections festival brings warmth and energy to the city. The festival celebrates Celtic traditional music and lights up stages across Glasgow. Each year it typically features more than 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late-night sessions, and workshops. While the festival highlights the roots of traditional Scottish music, it also welcomes international folk, roots, and world music artists.

Throughout January, you can easily catch lively, knee-slapping tunes, enjoy the camaraderie between musicians and audiences, and experience unique musical showcases. Indeed, there is no better place to be.

Another unforgettable event is, of course, Burns Night. On 25^th January each year, people across Scotland celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns.

Burns is Scotland’s national poet and is famous for writing in Scots dialect. His best known works include To a Mouse, Address to a Haggis, Tam O'Shanter, A Red, Red Rose and The Selkirk Grace.

Burns Night traditionally centres around a celebratory meal, usually enjoyed with friends or family, consisting of Haggis, neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (potatoes). Throughout the evening there are several toasts and traditions, including an address to the haggis, a toast to the lassies (in which a man makes a speech to celebrate all the women in the room), as well as multiple readings of Burns poems.

Burns Night is often a heartfelt and humorous occasion, celebrated with a dram of whisky and the company of loved ones.