Burns Supper: A Gastro-Literary Event
Celebrating the Life and Poetry of Robert Burns (born 25 January 1759-died 21 July 1796)
No matter how far away you are from Scotland, you have a good chance of finding a Burns Supper. According to a Scottish friend, anywhere you find Scots, you’ll find a Burns Supper, from all over the UK and as far away as Zambia. There is a strong tradition of Burns suppers in New Zealand, as Thomas Burns, Robbie Burns’ nephew, was a founding father there. Canada has many Burns Suppers too. Many places in the USA will host a Burns Supper. Here in Illinois, the Illinois Saint Andrew Society usually plans two Burns Suppers, for example.
Burns Supper in Urbana, Illinois
Here in Urbana, our Wine Lovers’ Group had its very own Burns Supper too, which we were lucky enough to attend. A lot of fun.
What is all the fuss about and just what is this?
A Burns Supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet. They are usually held on, or close to, the poet’s birthday on January 25th, although the first one was held on January 29, 1802, as his friends mistakenly thought that was his birthday. His birthday is also often known as Robert Burns Day or Rabbie Burns Day.
These dinners may be formal or informal, but will all include haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish that was celebrated by Burns in one of his poems, Address to a Haggis. All dinners also involve Scotch whisky and the reciting of some of Burns’ poems.
The more formal dinners are fun as they follow a set format, which gives us a good window into Scottish traditions. Our dinner was strictly formal, and gave us a better understanding of how revered Robbie Burns is to Scots people.
At the beginning, guests mingle informally over snacks as a piper pipes them in with his bagpipes. The hosts welcome everyone and the guests are seated with the reciting of the Selkirk Grace. This grace wasn’t written by Burns, but gained its name after Burns delivered it at a dinner hosted by the Earl of Selkirk.
Then comes the Soup Course, usually Scotch Broth and/or Cock-a-Leekie, followed by the Parade of the Haggis. The piper pipes in the haggis, carried in by the cook and after it’s placed on the table, someone recites the Address to a Haggis. At certain lines towards the end of the poem the speaker picks up a knife, sharpens it, and plunges it into the haggis—a highlight of the evening. All rather dramatic.
Someone proposes a Scotch whisky toast to the haggis and then dinner is served: haggis with tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (mashed rutabagas). Dessert might be cranachan (a dessert with oatmeal, cream and raspberries) or Tipsy Laird (whisky trifle), and oatcakes with various cheeses. These were supposedly Burns’ favorite foods. All washed down with Scotch whisky and/or wine.
There will be various speeches and toasts—to the Immortal Memory of Burns, to the Lads, to the Lassies—and perhaps singing of some Burns songs, and even dancing. The evening ends with all the guests standing and holding hands in a large oval (if no room for a circle), singing Auld Lang Syne.
We had it all (except the dancing) and it was a wonderful evening.
Thanks go to many people for organizing the event and helping with it, but especially to Ann and Roy Campbell, and to Wally and Jane Myers for opening up their home as the venue—they seated and entertained about 40 people. The tables were all beautifully decorated, with proper linen, candles in lovely tall candlesticks, and vases of red roses (One of Burns’ poems is “My Love is like a Red Red Rose”), and the walls had pictures of Burns.
Part of this text I’ve used in an article before, part of it is new from the dinner the other day. All the photos are new from our dinner the other day.
For more information about Robert Burns and Burns Night Suppers, check out these good web sites.
https://www.scotland.org/events/burns-night
http://www.robertburns.org/suppers/itinerary.shtml
Celtic Connections and Travels 