Buffalo Rising Online

Jan 25th 2008, 10:51am By Christa Glennie Seychew

January 25 is Burns Day in Scotland, a special holiday which celebrates the 1759 birth of poet, lyricist and Freemason Robert Burns. In Burns' 37 short years he penned many of Scotland's most famous songs and poems, earning his title as Scotland's favorite bard.

Burns is recognized internationally for composing New Years' Eve favorite Auld Lang Syne, and his poem Comin' Thro' the Rye is considered to be the inspiration for J.D. Salinger's iconic novel Catcher in the Rye. Though his poems and songs number in the hundreds, these two works, along with My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose and Tam O'Shanter are his best known.

Every year Scots and other Burns fans commemorate Burns Day with a traditional Burns Supper. It features specific dishes and readings of the Bard's works. Some of these suppers are rather stern and highly ceremonious, while others are a little more lighthearted and whiskey-heavy.

The structure of the dinner is as follows:

Dinner begins with a reading of Selkirk Grace, a poem I'm rather fond of, as my father used to say it often:
Some hae meat and cannot eat.
Some cannot eat that want it:
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Dinner guests are then asked to stand and receive the haggis. For those of you who are unfamiliar with haggis, it is Scotland's national dish and is made of sheep's “pluck”' (which includes the heart, liver and lungs), oatmeal, suet, onion, spices, salt, and stock stuffed into the stomach of a sheep and boiled for numerous hours. The chef brings out the haggis, led by a kilted bagpiper. Once the haggis arrives at the table, Address to a Haggis, another Burns poem too long to include here, is recited with intense enthusiasm by the host or guest of honor. At a specific point in the poem, the host cuts the haggis with a ceremonial knife or sword, pours a dash of whiskey in the cut, and all raise a toast to the haggis.

The rest of the evening's fare includes Cock-a-Leekie Soup, Bashed Neeps, Oatcakes and Cheese, Typsie Laird, and of course, more whiskey.

The dinner is completed with a speech to The Immortal Memory of Burns and a series of toasts. The rest of the evening includes the singing of other famous Burns songs, recitations of Burns poems and, well, more whiskey.

Burns Day celebrations are certainly not as popular here in the U.S. as St. Patrick's Day, but there's no reason why you shouldn't buy a good bottle of whiskey and host your own. Scotland is working hard to lift the United States' ban on imported haggis, so until they succeed you'll have to make your own or use another UK dish in its place. You may find a favorite in a little Cullen Skink, Inky Pinky or a few Priddy Oggies. If none of those options are appealing, swing into one of Buffalo's many traditional pubs tonight and raise a pint to the Bard Burns.


Happy Burns Day!