Celebrating Robert Burns

Guest blog on the occasion of Burns Night (25 January), written by Deborah Moss, Organising Committee member of “Wee Burns”

It is a tribute to the poet, Robert Burns, that Scots have held Burns Suppers for over 250 years to remember a man whom many consider to be Scotland’s most famous son. According to the Johnnie Walker’s Burns Supper Companion, a “Burns Supper is a sincere celebration of poetic genius and down to earth humanity which Robert Burns possessed to an unparalleled degree.”

Burns Suppers are held all over the world and here in Hungary there are several annual events, each with their own distinctive character. The biggest and most formal event (known as the “Big Burns”) is organised by the Robert Burns International Foundation, this year on Saturday 24 January 2015 at the Corinthia Hotel with the aim of raising millions of forints for sick children. A more informal Burns Supper will be held on the anniversary of Burns’s birth on Sunday 25 January 2015 at The Caledonia. Last, but not least, the “Wee Burns”, a traditional Burns Supper, will be hosted at the Scottish Mission (St Columba’s Church of Scotland) on Tuesday 27 January 2015.

So what does a traditional Burns Supper involve? Food – haggis, neeps and tatties – play a large part in the proceedings, the haggis first of all being piped in and addressed by Burns’s poem “To a Haggis”. Naturally whisky features as there are several toasts throughout the evening. The main toast is the “Immortal Memory”, the most serious part of the event where the speaker reflects on the life and works of Robert Burns. More light hearted are the “Toast to the Lassies” (ladies) raised by a quick-witted male speaker and its reply, the “Toast to the Laddies” (gentlemen), made by an equally sharp female speaker, in which both speakers joke about the shortcomings of the opposite sex. Guests at a Burns supper enjoy a rich evening of Scottish food, music, songs and poetry, as well as a chance to try some Scottish dancing. A truly unique occasion, and one not to be missed.

To celebrate Burns Night and to get people in the festive mood, I was invited to give a lesson of Scottish country dancing to British Embassy staff. They mastered the basic moves and seemed to have enjoyed themselves very much…

Deborah Moss

“Wee Burns” Organising Committee member

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the British government.