Burns’ Night is a special Scottish
celebration which commemorates the life and works of a famous poet from
Scotland named Robert (Rabbie) Burns who contributed greatly to the country’s
culture and history. The date of the
festivities is always either on or close to January 25th, the day of
Burns’ birthday. Burns’ Night has many
different components including a dinner known as “Burns’ Supper,” toasts, the
reading of famous Burns poetry, the playing of bagpipes and more. It is also typical for attendees to wear
traditional Scottish clothing such as kilts and dresses made from the wearer’s
family tartan.
The typical order of events, though the
celebration may be formal or informal, is fairly consistent. There is normally music playing to welcome
the guests and in a more traditional Burns’ Night celebration the musical
entertainment would be live bagpipers.
Next, the event’s host formally welcomes their guests and reads a prayer
prior to serving them a meal. The prayer
is called “The Selkirk Grace” but it is also often referred to as “Burns’ Grace
at Kirkcudbright.” Then, comes the meal’s
most revered ingredient known as the haggis is brought into the room in a
procession that includes bagpipers, the celebration’s host and the chef.
While this grand entrance parade takes place,
guests clap enthusiastically in anticipation of the delicious food. Whisky will be served to accompany the meal
and there is an address and a toast to the haggis prior to dinnertime that
includes the Burn’s poem “Address to a Haggis”.
Finally, it’s time for the dinner itself and, after eating, there is an
array of entertainment to culminate the evening that incorporates music, poetry
reciting and speeches.
The dinner itself consists typically of
traditional Cock-a-leekie soup, Haggis, Tatties (potatoes), Neeps (turnips),
Clootie Dumplings and pudding. The
alcoholic beverages are also quite important.
Scottish whisky is always served and is often accompanied by a quality
selection of wines and ales.
Burns’ Night is a lively and traditional
Scottish celebration that really shows how vibrant the country’s culture
is.
It is an event that brings people
together to commemorate a famous Scottish person who made a difference to
Scottish people and their culture. The
night is filled with great entertainment, food, traditions and company. While the evening is extremely important in
Scotland in particular, it is also celebrated in other countries where Scottish
heritage is commonly found around the world including Canada, Australia and the
United States.
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