Edinburgh's Christmas celebrations are bringing crowds of smiling faces to the city centre – Steve Cardownie

As Edinburgh ramps up its Christmas celebrations, the city centre is bursting at the seams as we appear to be returning to the kind of popularity we enjoyed before Covid reared its ugly head.

Edinburgh's Christmas market in Princes Street gardens, next to Ross Fountain (Picture: Annabelle Gauntlett)

I have taken the opportunity mix with some of the city’s visitors and have been pleased to hear about their impressions of the celebrations. When I was Festival and Events Champion, I, along with Donald Anderson, who was the council leader at the time, was pleased to facilitate the siting of the “Big Wheel” in Princes Street Gardens. Despite some fierce opposition, Donald and I garnered sufficient support to see it through and it has been a prominent feature of our winter celebrations ever since.

As thousands flock to the gardens at this time of year, it always surprises me that some people still harp on about returning them to the people. However, some people have short memories. Before the advent of the Christmas celebrations, the gardens closed to the public at approximately 4pm every afternoon during the winter months, so their use now is a huge boon to public accessibility.

If you confined yourself to reading the letters page of this publication, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Christmas celebrations were a blight on the city and that residents wanted to see the back of them. Numerous surveys have proven that particular view to be wide of the mark and the numbers thronging the city speak for themselves.

There is no doubt that there is much to admire about Edinburgh but few can deny that it was a pretty bleak place in the winter before the Christmas celebrations came along that so many enjoy. Although you are not likely to see me donning a pair of skates and taking to the ice at the rink on George Street, I may be spotted, soaking up the atmosphere, wandering through the market and taking in the decorations on display.

Seeing smiling faces and hearing excited laughter makes for a more satisfying day. Granted, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is good enough for me.