What is Burns Night? | Celebrating Scottish Heritage

What is Burns Night?

Burns Night is celebrated every year on the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, a well renowned Scottish poet and songwriter, who was responsible for the iconic "Auld Lang Syne" and "Address to a Haggis". The latter was written by Burns as an ode to the Scottish delicacy.

A traditional Burns Night Supper features haggis, neeps and tatties (or mashed turnips and potatoes as they are otherwise known), and copious amounts of Scotch Whisky.

Bagpipes play as the chef delivers a platter of haggis to the host's table. Robert Burns' "Address to a Haggis" is recited before it is shared among guests.

While food and drink play a large part in the celebration, a true Burns Night would be incomplete without a good old song and dance.

"Auld Lang Syne" and "Scotland The Brave" are among the popular tunes played, often featuring guitars, bagpipes, fiddles, and even harps!

If for some strange reason you don't have any bagpipes handy, a YouTube playlist should suffice.

So, what are the essentials for a successful Burns Night?

1. Lots of warming, hearty food. If you're keeping with tradition, you will serve a cocka-a-leekie (chicken, leek, and rice) soup for starters, haggis, neeps & tatties for your main course, and a typsy laird (an alcoholic Scottish trifle) for dessert.

2. An engaging public speaker is essential for any Burns Night celebration; nominate one of your guests to take charge of the night's readings. You can find a suggested running order here.

3. Live Gaelic folk music would be ideal but, failing that, a good old-fashioned sing-a-long will do the trick. There's no feeling quite like looking around a room full of your loved ones as they belt out off-key, jumbled lyrics to your favourite old school anthems.

4. Plenty of wee drams of Scotch Whisky! For those of you who aren't big drinkers but still wish to embrace the spirit of the evening, check out our Scotch Whisky Scented Candle inspired by Argyll & the isles!