A mod is a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture. Historically, the Gaelic word mòd (Scottish Gaelic: [mɔːt̪]) refers to any kind of assembly. There are both local mods, and an annual national mod, the Royal National Mod. Mods are run under the auspices of An Comunn Gàidhealach.

The term comes from a Gaelic word for a parliament or congress in common use during the Lordship of the Isles. Despite this, many also believe the word originates from Brythonic (or more precisely, Welsh). The same term can be seen in eisteddFOD < MOD.

A Mod largely takes the form of formal competitions. Choral events (in Gaelic, both solo and choirs), and traditional music including fiddle, bagpipe and folk groups dominate. Spoken word events include children and adult's poetry reading, storytelling and Bible reading, and categories such as Ancient Folk Tale or Humorous Monologue. Children can also present an original drama, and there are competitions in written literature.

Unlike the National Mod, local mods usually only last a day or two. They attract a much smaller crowd and the only notable social event is the winners' ceilidh. As there are fewer competitions than in the National, this ceilidh is often more like a traditional ceilidh with dancing and guest singers between the winners' performances.

Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə]  listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.