On Jan. 25, Scots all over the world will observe the birthday of their immortal poet, Robert Burns, with the traditional Burns Supper.
The simple menu consists of cockaleekey soup (chicken soup made with leeks) and haggis tatyes and neeps (the haggis is a kind of sausage made with offal, onions, oatmeal and spices cooked in a sheep's stomach; tatyes and neeps are potatoes and turnips and, of course, great quantities of good Scots whiskey to toast the immortal memory).
The humble haggis takes pride of place and is the highlight of the evening. It is ceremonially carried aloft on a silver platter by a clansman in full Highland dress, accompanied by pipers playing traditional Scottish airs. The haggis is taken to the head table, where it is formally addressed by the person wielding the carving knife ready to serve this Scottish delight. The address is a grace written by Burns in a Scottish Lowland dialect:
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a'yet tak your place,
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.
There are seven more verses ending with this:
Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o'fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer
Gie her a haggis!
For explanations and translations, contact your nearest Burns enthusiast.
The Burns Supper is not just about the haggis; it's an evening paying tribute to the genius of Robbie Burns in song and story with pipers, dancers, toasts and quotes. A regular boys' night out.
The Golden Age we'll then revive;
Each man will be a brother;
In harmony we all shall live,
And share the earth together;
- Why Should we Idly Waste our Prime
Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.
- A Man's A Man for A' That
Burns' literally had a poem for every day of the year, starting on Jan. 1:
First, what did yesterday deliver?
'Another year has gone for ever.'
And what is this day's strong suggestion?
'The passing moment's all we rest on.'
- New Year's Day
Robert Burns (1759-1796)
Robert Burns was born in Ayrshire, in the west of Scotland, in 1759, the son of a struggling tenant farmer. Young Robert's heavy work on the farm permanently damaged his health. He was educated by a schoolmaster, read a great deal of English literature and the Bible, and also taught himself French. He was much influenced by an old, wise woman, a friend of his mother's, who told him stories of witches, apparitions, ghosts and ghoulies, as well as things that went bump in the night, legends and old Scottish folk tales.
Although he could write in the fashionable English of his time, Burns chose to write in a Lowland vernacular-and in so doing reestablished the vernacular and, with simple tales, glorified the ordinary man. Among his many works, he wrote his own epitaph:
"The poor inhabitant below was quick to learn and wise to know
And keenly felt a friendly glow and softer flame.
But thoughtless folly laid him low and stained his name."
He caught a chill in the Edinburgh snow in January of 1796. He never recovered and died some seven months later. He was buried with full military honors by the gentleman volunteers of Dumphris. His fame had barely begun.
Burns won fame by simple eloquence. In lyric English or the broad Scots of Ayr, he celebrated Wallace's iron at Stirling Bridge and Tam O'Shanter's flight from witches across Brig o'Doon.
Burns was dead at 37, his short years filled with hard toil on the land; collecting and adapting 300 Scottish songs; with poetizing, lusty conviviality and romantic extravagances. The sheer force of his simple lines made him not merely the national poet but also a premier figure in Scotland's history, and he gave the world a tender song to toll the years: "We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, for auld land syne."
Our friends from Somewhere In Time Unlimited are having a winter event, "An Evening with Robbie Burns" (not a Burns Supper-you don't have to eat haggis but a catered dinner).
An Evening with Robert Burns will take place Saturday, Jan. 26, from 6:30 to 11:00 p.m, on the moors of Magnolia, in the parish hall of a country church, Magnolia Lutheran Church, 2414 31st Ave. W. For dress, come in your family tartan, ready to dance a reel, recite a line, propose a toast or just enjoy the winter warmth of good friends.
If you need more information, feel free to contact me at 282-8161.
TTFN and Happy New Year
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne?