Celebrating Burns Night: A Feast of Scottish Traditions and Flavours

Tomorrow is 25th January, a special night in the calendar as it is Burns’ Night – the night when the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns is celebrated. Celebrations often involve food, music, poetry and toasts. People around the world come together to remember his life and work with family and friends and is a key cultural moment for many Scottish families.

So who was Robert Burns? He was a Scottish poet and lyricist born on 25th January 1759 which is where we get the date for the celebration of his life. Some of his most famous works include Auld Lang Syne and Tam O’ Shanter. Robert, or Rabbie to his friends and family, grew up on the south west coast of Scotland where he worked as a labourer on his family farm. The celebration of Burns night was started by his friends after his death in 1796.

There are many traditions upheld on Burns Night, the first being the recital of the prayer The Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat an canna eat,                            Some have meat but cannot eat,

And some wad eat that want it;                         Some have none that want it;

But we hae meat, and we can eat,                    But we have meat and we can eat,

And sae the Lord be thankit.                               So let the Lord be thanked.

The next and probably the highlight of the evening is the piping in of the haggis using the traditional instrument of Scotland – the bagpipes. Another of Burns’ poems is recited – Address To A Haggis and the it’s time to eat.

At a Burn’s Night supper, you would traditionally eat haggis with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) which are usually mashed. The haggis, neeps and tatties can be served simply like this or alternatively it can be served up with a whisky sauce. You might want to follow up your haggis main course with a Scottish pudding such as cranachan or a clootie dumpling.

All of this of course should be washed down with a wee dram of whisky. Whether you prefer Lagavulin from Islay or a Glenmorangie from the Highlands there are a plethora of fine whiskies available. If you’re not a fan or would prefer something non-alcoholic you could always wash your haggis down with a good old glass of IrnBru 😊.

If you are planning on hosting a Burns’ Night party be sure to have plenty of tartan decorations and a playlist of bagpipe or traditional Scottish folk music for everyone to enjoy.

We hope all of our customers enjoy their Haggis, Neeps and Tattie Pies which we have put on the menu this week especially for Burns’ Night.