Burns Night

Burns Night. What is it?

Almost immediately upon arriving in Scotland, people talked about Burns Night. So often we heard from people, “Oh, good. You’ll be here for Burns Night.”

Okaaay.  

We knew it was in January. We knew it would be a dinner that involved haggis. And that was about it. 

Burns Night in Scotland is a big deal. It is a night to celebrate the the life and poetry of Scotland's Robert Burns - fondly known as "Rabbie." It is celebrated on or about January 25, which was his birthday (1759).

I know you are thinking (because I did, too)  - what was so special about Robert Burns that he gets a night that the Scottish people so heartily embrace and celebrate? Well, he is considered the national poet of Scotland and wrote a number of poems and song lyrics. 

You will best recognize him for his poem/song that is sung around the world at midnight every New Year's Eve (or Hogmanay, as it is called in Scotland)   -"Auld Lang Syne."  

Surprise!

I know, right? 

So, I already told you the meal involves haggis. Why haggis? What is it? Why did Burns write about it?

Katrina, Cathy, Leah and Jodi  - with photo bomber, Andy (Katrina's husband)

As I understand it, haggis was an ordinary meal, served to ordinary Scots. It was healthy and nutritious. But Burns presented the Haggis as being a unique and symbolic part of Scottish identity as a way to celebrate their distinct heritage and encourage Scottish nationalism. So, in his "Address to a Haggis," he basically created this creature called a Haggis - and people have been having fun with it ever since.  

Here is a description of a Haggis that I found on the internet: 

The Wild Haggis is a small, rough-haired quadruped creature, native to the Scottish Highlands.  A notable feature is that the legs on one side of the animal’s body are both significantly longer than those on the other, this being a local long-term evolutionary adaptation to living on the steep sides of Scottish mountains.

Haggis*  thus adapted can only travel with any ease or speed in one direction – clock-wise (Haggis Scottii dexterous), or anti-clockwise (Haggis Scotti sinistrous), depending on whether the legs are longer on the left or the right side of the animal. If the shorter legs do not remain on the up-slope side of the hapless beastie it is in severe danger of falling over sideways and rolling to the bottom of the hillside.

  

And here is a picture of a Haggis I took at The Gun Lodge Hotel in Ardiersier, near Inverness. 

Now, I believe haggis (the food) probably has gotten a bad rap. I think all my Americans friends say 'ewww!' and think they would never try it and certainly never like it. But it is a very traditional Scottish food and is very nutritious. (And I will admit - quite tasty.)

I know. I know.

I still have not told you what haggis - the food - is.  So here is a description of haggis that I also found on the internet: 

In the olden days the preparation of a Haggis went something like this :-

Take the liver, lungs & heart of a sheep and boil them. Mince the meats and mix with chopped onions, toasted oatmeal, salt, pepper, and spices. Take one properly cleaned sheep's stomach. Stuff the cleaned stomach with the prepared contents. Sew up the stomach (leaving enough room for expansion to avoid a large messy explosion) and boil. Serve and eat. Lovely !

Okay!, now you've returned from the bathroom, be reassured that modern Haggis prepared here in Scotland is not so gruesome. The best meats are selected, (including tripe and offal) and prepared with finest oatmeal and spices…..but served in a synthetic skin which is representative of the old technique. The quality manufacturers of Haggis here in Scotland pride themselves in their guarded secret recipes and prepare the Haggis to exacting standards. Haggis has a higher quality of content than your average "sausage"…..and is extremely healthy…..so please don't be put off! Nowadays, there are even vegetarian versions made from the finest Scottish produce

So there you have it.

And keep in mind, my American friends, that most of you eat hot dogs.

The Men -  Dave (Leah's),  Andy (Katrina's), Ken (Cathy's) and Mike (mine, of course)

Two Americans in Scottish attire

The Burns Night Supper was a really fun night of pomp and circumstance. And it was a dress-up occasion. Scottish men wore kilts and jackets. Ladies wore dresses and heels. There was a head table where all the key people sat and from where speeches were made. 

When it started, the host said a few words and the Selkirk Grace was said:

Selkirk Grace 

"Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it;

But we hae meat and we can eat,

And sae the Lord be thanket." 

Next was "Piping in the Haggis."  This is such a funny phrase, but it was literally that.

Everyone stood and did a slow hand clap while a young bagpipe player paraded ceremoniously through the dinner area followed by the chef carrying the haggis on a platter. 

Then there was the "Address to a Haggis," written by Robert Burns.  At the end of it, the haggis was 'slaughtered.'  (If you are interested, you can Google "Address to a Haggis.")

And then dinner was served - haggis, neeps (mashed turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes).  The haggis was very tasty! 

 I'm serious, here.

If they didn't call it 'haggis,' and you didn't know how it was prepared, you would probably eat it and say, "That was good. What was it?"  

For my American friends, I would describe it as a very flavorful meatloaf made with lots of oats, so that the meatloaf does not hold together as a loaf - and is certainly not sliceable - but is just loose on the plate. 

Dessert was lovely - a yummy sponge cake soaked in something really sweet, with custard in the middle and topped with a pile of whipped cream. 

Oh yeah. It was good.

Then coffee and tea. 

Oat cakes and Scottish pancakes were also on the table. Oat cakes are a really really dry type of flatbread made of oats and Scottish pancakes tend to be more of a dessert than a breakfast food and is often eaten topped with jam. 

There was more ceremony after the dinner as the program went on. 

First was The Immortal Memory  - a speech made about Robert Burns, his life and his contributions, inserted with remarks about local people, supposedly present, although I didn't know any of them.

Then came a Musical Item. This happened to be a woman who sang a handful of Burns' songs a capella, ending with "Auld Lang Syne." 

Then there was the Toast to the Lassies.  This was fun, as it was all about women: about Robert Burns' reputation with the women as well as referencing local women.  Of course, I didn't understand all that was said because these people are Scottish. Sometimes I am doing well just to understand half of it. And sometimes people laughed and I didn't know what was funny. But isn't that half the fun?   

At the end of his long speech, all the men stood and toasted the lassies. 

Then, there was a rebuttal, called Reply to the Toast, given by a woman. Again, not sure what all she said.

The Americans  from left to right - Katrina, Leah, Jodi, Mike, Ken, Dave, Andy, Cathy

The formal part of the evening concluded with the Vote of Thanks. I didn't understand it at the time (or much of what he said), but apparently this person must spend the evening making notes of what everyone has done and said and try to write a witty, 10 minute script about it. I heard it said that it means no serious drinking can be done as he has to stay alert and listen to all that is said. 

While I did enjoy the dinner and all the formality of it all, I thought the most enjoyable part was when the live band started playing -  who was appropriately called "Whiskey" and made up of local Dounreay workers - and the dancing began. 

The tables were all pushed back against the outside walls so as to clear the space in the middle for dancing. The band was loud and very energetic and made me just want to jump up and start moving. And we did!

I especially enjoyed watching the Scottish dancing.  For those dances, people paired up, and made a large circle and danced, moving forward and back around the circle, everyone doing the same moves. It was thrilling to watch and made me wish I knew how to do it!

Before we left, they had another traditional Scottish dance called "Strip the Willow." It seems that all Scottish children learn this in school (kind of like how the American children all learned "The Virginia Reel" in 4th grade).

“Strip the Willow” was great fun! But let me say that they should not have left the Americans to be in the same group or let an American be the first in line!   

We were in groups of 4 pairs and we happened to be the first pair in our group. They gave a quick demonstration of how to do it (Think: Virginia Reel – a line of men facing a line of women, where a man and a woman meet in the middle and swing about and then go off and swing around the next guy in line and back to the middle to swing with the partner and back to the line, until they have swung with each person).  But faster than The Virginia Reel!

And then it started – and unfortunately, with Mike and I as the first couple!  Mike and I stumbled through it - and our poor friends were beside us trying to figure out what we were doing – and what they were supposed to do - HA!  I was laughing so hard that I could barely see!   

The last couple in our group was Scottish and actually knew what they were doing, so they tried to set us straight.  Oh my!  What fun that was!

 

they moved too fast to get a good picture 

What I really admired about the evening was about how very Scottish it was.

 Kilts and jackets.

Lively music.

Lively dancing.

This was not the first time I had the impression that the Scots really know how to celebrate and have a good time. I love that they dance and that they have dances that are so uniquely Scottish. I loved that there was a table of about 20 young folks (20's-something), so that this event was not just something that the old people did and is in danger of dying off. In fact, they were even eager and competent dancers!

I learned last week that kilts are for celebrating. They are rarely worn to a funeral service for that reason. Although one could argue that, while a funeral is a sad occasion, it can also be a time of celebration of the person's life - not unlike the Burns Supper. 

So, our first, and maybe our only, Burns Supper is over.

I was glad to be here to participate in it and wouldn’t mind going to another one, if I had the chance.

But if I do, I want to learn some of those Scottish dances first.