How to Celebrate Robert Burns Night

Robert Burns (or Rabbie Burns as he’s often known) is Scotland’s national poet. Each year, his birthday, January 25, is celebrated in Scotland and further afield by the holding of Burns suppers. Burns was a man who loved company, and his qualities of warmth and humanity shine through in his work, making it the ideal accompaniment to an evening of festivities.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Dress smartly. If you’re male, consider wearing a kilt. While not strictly necessary, Burns Suppers are one of the few occasions in which Scottish men still traditionally wear kilts.
2. Name a chairperson for the event.
3. Recite the Selkirk Grace to begin proceedings. It reads:
   
   Some hae meat and canna eat,
   And some wad eat that want it,
   But we hae meat, and we can eat,
   Sae let the Lord be thankit.
4. Stand and clap in rhythm as the haggis--the traditional centre piece of a Burns Supper--is brought ceremoniously into the room and the chairperson recites Burns’ Ode to a Haggis. Ideally, the haggis should be first cut into by the chairperson as he recites the lines “An cut you up wi’ ready slight”. The company then applauds and toasts the haggis with whisky.
5. Eat the haggis.
6. Listen as an invited guest delivers the “Immortal Memory” speech. The speech should be about Robert Burns and the continuing relevance of his work to the modern world.
7. Listen to the “Toast to the Lasses”. Burns was famous for his amorous adventures and, traditionally, the “Toast to the Lasses” speech celebrates as well as pokes gentle fun at the fairer sex.
8. Hear the response as a woman replies to the “Toast to the Lasses” in the same bantering spirit.
9. Celebrate Burns’ work by reciting some of his poems and listening to some of his songs. Everyone should be encouraged to participate here. It helps to have lots of Burns’ books lying around, with the best poems for a festive occasion having been marked out in advance.
10. End by joining arms with everyone present and singing “Auld Lang Syne”.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need inspiration for the Toast to the Lasses and the response to it, there are some witty examples--including a few poetic ones in the style of Burns himself--to be found on the internet.
• Don’t get over-obsessive about the ritual aspects of the occasion. Feel free to drop anything that isn’t practical. The important thing is to have a good time.