For the past few years, our friends have gathered at our house for a celebration meal of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. In the past my husband and I have gone to Burns Night Suppers and enjoyed the ceremony of it: the reading of Address to a Haggis and the bagpipes playing and we were amazed when some of our friends said that they had never tasted haggis before, so we decided to remedy that!
Suffice to say they all loved it and so it’s now fast becoming a tradition to have haggis at our house. But why do we celebrate Burns Night? Who is Robert Burns and why do we eat Haggis?
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Who is Robert Burns?
Burns was born in Alloway, South Ayrshire in 1759, the eldest of seven children. His parents were William Burns and Agnes Broun and they were a poor farming family. Burns worked in the fields from the age of 15 and during this time he started to write poetry, mainly for the pursuit of women.
As he got older, his interest in farming waned and was taken over by writing poetry, women and drinking. He had many affairs during his life, one of which was with a servant girl who gave birth to an illegitimate child. Jean Armour, who was a constant in his life also became pregnant the following year, but Jean’s father refused to allow Burns to marry her.
He then planned to go to Jamaica with another woman named Mary Campbell, but she unfortunately died before they could leave. She is known as Highland Mary.
Whilst Burns was still trying to get enough money to travel to Jamaica, he published his first collection of poems entitled, “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect” also known as the Kilmarnock edition. They made him known across Scotland.
These poems brought him fame, money and he was invited to posh social gatherings.
In 1788 Burns moved to Dumfries where he leased a farm and he married Jean Armour. While working as a farmer, he wrote poems and songs with people who were considered socially superior.
He died in 1796 after his health declined rapidly. On the day of his funeral Jean Armour gave birth to his final son, Maxwell. He left behind five surviving children out of the 12 born.
Why Do We Celebrate Burns Night?
It is said that Burns’ friends hosted an informal supper on the 5th anniversary of his death. They read out his poems and ate haggis, the Scottish national dish, but the following year they changed it to his birthday, although they got the date wrong by four days!
This get-together soon became a tradition which gathered pace and is now celebrated across much of Scotland and around the world.
Traditionally, you cannot tuck in until the host has recited the famous poem – Address to a Haggis and when the line –
‘His knife see rustic Labour dicht, An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht’,
Robbie Burns
is read out, they will dramatically stab the haggis, dragging the knife through the meat and then the neeps and tatties are served with the haggis.
Lasting Legacy
Burns’ work inspired many romantic poets: Williams Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his musical compositions are found within traditions around the world.
Auld Lang Syne is probably his most famous, sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay in Scotland.
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