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Whisky, haggis and the poetry of Robert Burns

ByTeja Lele
Jan 24, 2025 02:28 PM IST

On January 25, the birthday of its national poet, Scotland celebrates Burns Night with a traditional Scottish meal washed down with a warming dram of whisky

Which day of the year combines haggis, whisky, poetry, and fun? Burns Night, of course!

The poetry of Robert Burns (Courtesy Visit Scotland) PREMIUM
The poetry of Robert Burns (Courtesy Visit Scotland)

Held every January 25, the birthday of Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns, the day celebrates the national poet of Scotland. Much of Burns’ writing, in a “light Scots dialect” of English, is accessible to an audience beyond Scotland – including his most popular works Auld Lang Syne, often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and Scots Wha Hae, which for a long time served as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.

Scotland celebrates its beloved poet on Burns Night with a Burns Supper, which spotlights his work and is enjoyed with a Scottish meal and a warming dram of whisky. The evening includes recitations and performances of some of his poems and songs, and tributes to the bard. In recent times, the suppers are organised in restaurants and community centres in Scotland and across the world. They event often includes quizzes, treasure hunts, Scottish music playlists, and a ceilidh, an evening of Scottish folk music and singing, dancing, and storytelling.

Gerard Carruthers, Francis Hutcheson Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, says the first Burns Supper took place in 1801, exactly five years after the death of the poet.

“This was organised by a small group of his friends at his boyhood home in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns Suppers were there on held in January, the month of Burns’ birth, and grew in popularity so as to involve around nine million people across the globe today,” he says.

Celebrating Burns Supper (Courtesy Visit Scotland)
Celebrating Burns Supper (Courtesy Visit Scotland)

Paul Malgrati from the Institute for Northern Studies confirms that the first Burns supper took place in the cottage where the poet was born in 1796.

“The cottage, built by his father, still stands. It’s a landmark on the Burns trail in Scotland, and was the site of the ‘first supper’ organised by Hamilton Paul, a minister in Ayr, and included nine guests, all Freemasons, all male; some friends, some admirers,” he says.

The author of Robert Burns and Scottish Cultural Politics – The Bard of Contention (December 2024) reveals that Burns was a Freemason and the suppers started as “a Masonic thing”. “Hamilton drew from Burns’ poetry to craft this tribute to his work. That supper was held on the anniversary of Burns’ death. It was only after this supper was reported in the news that people became inspired to celebrate the poet with suppers,” he says.

The first supper included Address to the Haggis, Burns’ 1785 poem in celebration of the Scottish dish. “It was a striking example of food patriotism. Haggis is made from sheep offal and oats; it was a peasant meal and not looked at in good light before Burns wrote this poem. In praising it, he celebrated the strength of the Scottish peasant,” Malgrati says.

Whisky was an accompaniment as well since Burns saw Scotch whisky as holding a symbolic significance for Scotland. At that time, in the 1780s, whisky was not necessarily seen as a genteel drink, let alone a gentleman’s one. “It was associated with the Highlands, with Gaelic; it was seen as a ruffian drink. By praising it, Burns assumed a role in creating the legend of Scottish whisky,” Malgrati reveals.

Burns Cottage on Burns Night (Courtesy Visit Scotland)
Burns Cottage on Burns Night (Courtesy Visit Scotland)

And then there was a versified tribute to the poet, the first “Immortal Memory” speech, a remembrance, a summation of his talents and his poems.

Carruthers, who served as general editor on the Oxford University Press edition of The Works of Robert Burns, reveals that the format of Burns Night became more settled with time.

Today, the meal usually features three to four courses, and includes haggis, neeps (turnip), and tatties (potatoes) served as either a starter or main course.

To a Haggis is part-joke, part serious text, celebrating simple but natural, wholesome food as the backbone of a healthy population. Part of the joke resides in it being supposedly made of disgusting contents,” Carruthers says.

There may then be toasts and a vote of thanks.

Songs by Burns are usually performed from the large repertoire of around 400 written or collected by him. For example, Ae Fond Kiss, A Red Rose, Green Grow the Rashes, Westlin Winds, and many others. The supper usually ends with everyone singing Auld Lang Syne. Often, some poems will be performed; the most popular in recent decades being Holy Willie’s Prayer and Tam o’ Shanter.

A modern Burns Supper typically begins with a starter (Scotch broth or cullen skink), followed by a pre-set main course of haggis, neeps and tatties. Cranachan, clootie dumplings and a traditional cheese board are often served as desserts.

The day is celebrated among the Scottish diaspora and students who studied in the country with fervour as well. “Burns suppers are popular in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the US,” Carruthers says.

India too has a few Burns’ suppers. The ones in Mumbai are organised by the city’s British High Commission, the Caledonian Society of Mumbai, and by Edinburgh University alumni, while the one in Delhi is also celebrated by the university’s alumni. Clark McGinn, an expert on early Burns Suppers, dates the first Indian Burns Supper to 1810 or 1812. “They were held by Scottish soldiers and officers in Bombay (not Calcutta!),” Malgrati says.

Burns is a “world writer”, having been translated into around 50 languages, and being popular in the US, China, Russia and many other countries.

“In India/Pakistan/Bangladesh, he [is said to have] influenced Tagore and Nazrul, among others. He is a great writer of the Romantic Age, along with Walter Scott imprinting upon the world imagination the songs and landscape of Scotland. Burns is often, rightly, lauded as a great poet of nature and democratic sensibility. Most Scottish poets, writing in Scots, Gaelic, or English ‘have’ to be aware of the huge presence of Burns,” says Carruthers.

Today, Burns Cottage, a cosy four-room structure where Burns was born and lived until the age of seven, recreates the atmosphere of the house where the poet’s imagination was first fired. The cottage showcases the life of the family back then: how they lived with farm animals, ate meals together in the kitchen, and read by a crackling fireplace. Daubed with fragments of Burns’s verse and a few choice Scots words such as ‘crambo-jingle’ and ‘hawkie’, it hosts a special Burns Supper on January 25.

As a married man, Burns lived at his farm, Mossgiel, in Mauchline where he had his most creative and productive period. But before his farm was ready to live in, he lodged in a room nearby with his wife, Jean Armour. That room today is home to the Burns House Museum, and showcases original manuscripts, objects, and other publications.

The small museum interprets Burns’ life in the town and his relationships with many people, including Holy Willie, who featured in his poetry and is buried in the graveyard opposite the museum. Contemporary works by Scottish artists such as Calum Colvin and the Timorous Beasties complement the historic displays.

One of Robert Burns’ favourite places to recite his poetry. (Courtesy Visit Scotland)
One of Robert Burns’ favourite places to recite his poetry. (Courtesy Visit Scotland)

In Dumfries, a simple sandstone house is where the bard lived for the last three years of his life until his death in 1796. The home, with an extensive range of artefacts such as his desk and chair, personal belongings, and manuscripts, is a key pilgrimage site for Burns enthusiasts. Visitors over the decades have included William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats.

Burns Suppers have become multicultural over the years. “For example, the Indian community in Scotland is finding creative new ways to engage. A common treat in Scotland served during this time is the haggis pakora or haggis in curry. So, there is no fixed format,” Malgrati says.

Burns Clubs were formed in the mid-19th century, and almost 200 of them are still active. While the majority of these are in Scotland, there are many in the US and in Europe.

Burns’ thoughts and ideas continue to resonate. “Burns was also politically active. The ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity became part of his later writing. A Man’s a Man for A’ That is known for its expression of egalitarianism. He was renowned as a poet – and a song collector, with some of his famous tunes and melodies coming from those songs,” Malgrati says.

Apart from celebrating the life and work of Robert Burns, Burns Night – and his supper – are an opportunity to celebrate Scotland’s enduring legacy of creativity.

Teja Lele is an independent editor and writes on books, travel and lifestyle.

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