Burns Night
January 25 · Level 8 · #571 of 2238
Burns Night celebrates Scotland's poet Robert Burns with verse, music and a shared meal. Held on his birthday, it brings together literary appreciation and generous hospitality, with plenty of room for humour among the speeches.
How it is celebrated: a traditional Burns supper serves haggis with neeps and tatties, or swede and potatoes. The haggis may arrive to bagpipe music before someone recites Burns's Address to a Haggis; toasts and songs follow.
The first supper organised by Burns's friends commemorated the anniversary of his death. The tradition later settled on his birthday, turning a memorial gathering into an annual celebration of his work.