The Burns Supper 25th January
Robert Burns was well known to be fond of good food and fellowship. The 'Burns Supper' is celebrated annually on the 25th January throughout Scotland and in many places around the world, in celebration of the anniversary of his birth. The year 1996 was the two hundredth anniversary of Robert Burns' death at the age of 37.
Traditionally, the food served at the Burns Supper is haggis served with boiled potato and turnip ('tatties and neeps'). The haggis is a Scots pudding made from the organs of a sheep, minced, mixed with oatmeal, and highly spiced, traditionally packed into the stomach of the sheep and boiled. The turnip is the strong tasting and golden variety which non-Scots may call 'swede'
The haggis is traditionally carried into the room, often by the cook, to where the supper guests are seated, usually led by a piper in full dress. It is then traditionally addressed - a person recites Burns' Address to a haggis - before it is cut and served.
After the meal, toasts are normally
proposed. These may follow this pattern:
A toast to the Immortal Memory
(This toast, to Burns memory, is usually a long and learned
speech about aspects of Burns' work usually linking it to
contemporary events, people and places).
A toast to the Lassies followed by a reply
by the Lassies
These toasts are often rather amusing addresses, often with
reference to persons present or well known to the persons at the
supper.
There may be additional entertainment, including pipe music, singing and recitation of Burns' songs and poems.
The event is now widely celebrated in England by non-Scots. Public houses in England may advertise the event alongside the usual darts and quiz nights as a device to vary the traditional fare offered on the menu. The more discerning English pubs may obtain their haggis from Lindsay Grieve. When Burns life is celebrated by the English, the entertainment provided by the guests may be poetry, a song or party piece not related to Robert Burns.The Burns Supper traditionally ends with all present standing and singing Auld Lang Syne.
Back to Lindsay Grieve's Champion Haggis page
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Last modified: January 03, 2006