Throughout the world Scots celebrate the birth of their national poet Robert Burns with the traditional Burns Supper. The centrepiece of the meal is a sausage called haggis which Burns memorably described as "Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!" At the celebration people enjoy the traditional Scottish food, Scottish music and the songs and the poems of Robert Burns. Worldwide there are approximately four hundred Robert Burns Clubs and about half a million Burns Suppers held annually. Obviously Robert Burns means big money and a lot of tourists! The portrait of Scotland's best-beloved poet adorns whisky bottles, biscuit tins and tea cups as well as numerous books. A poet who still fascinates a nation 250 years after his birth must be quite a genius. So who is he?

 

Even though Robert Burns already died at the age of 37, he became so famous for his poems and his songs that he is often called the Scottish Shakespeare. His poems were translated into more than 24 languages and are still popular today. Perhaps you are already acquainted with his most famous piece of work "Auld Lang Syne", which has become the traditional anthem of many Hogmanay and New Year's festivities. After publishing his first collection of poems in 1786, he was celebrated like a pop star. The collection called "Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect" contains his most famous poems, including the poem "To a mouse", "To a louse" and "The Cotter's Saturday Night". Burns was a highly flexible poet, who turned his attention in his poems to topics as casual as the Scottish sausage called Haggis ("Address to the Haggis") , to mice "To a mouse" or to lice "To a louse". His tone also varied greatly, as can be seen in titles as different as "My love is like a red rose" and "The fornicator". Fornicator is a synonym for a womanizer.

 

The Scottish poet was born in Alloway, Ayrshire, on the 25th January 1759. The gifted writer is the son of a poor tenant and a peasant women. Robert was the eldest son of seven children. Despite of their poverty his father insisted that his seven children received a good education. Thus Robert Burns was extremely well-read, even though he had to work hard on the farm of his father. It was during his working years on the farm that Robert Burns developed most of the passions that would influence his latter life - nature, poetry, women and drink.

 

On the one hand Burns was always very down-to-earth – on the other hand he was a great romanticist. During his short life the Scottish poet wrote some of the most amazing and well-known love poems. His love poems were largely inspired by his great weakness for women. However, Burns was not only a great romanticist, but also a great patriotist. His enthusiastic patriotism is reflected in poems like "My heart's in the Highlands" or "Queen of Scots".

 

The handsome dark-haired young poet was hardly shy when it came to flirting with women. His biographer Ian McIntyre once mentioned that Burns was not able to address a women "on paper or in the flesh, without placing a hand on her thigh". Even though he was married he had numerous love affairs with other women. There is much speculation about how many children the young poet fathered. Most people believe that he is the father of twelve illegitimate children from four different mothers. It was no secret that Burns was a fond drinker. Some people even attribute his early death to his excessive drinking habits. Burns experts, however, believe that Burns was not such a heavy drinker as his poems might imply.

 

On January 25th Scots all over the world will gather again to celebrate the 250th anniversary of their national poet, Robert Burns. The celebration is called Burns Night. In the evening people enjoy the so called Burns Supper which traditionally consists of Haggis with neeps and tatties. Haggis is Scotland's national dish. It looks like a large, round sausage and is made from the heart and liver from a sheep.

 

The haggis is boiled in a bag that is usually made from part of a sheep's stomach. A Burns Night Supper always follows the same procedure. The guests are seated and a piper enters the room, followed by the chef carrying the haggis. A waiter follows behind with a bottle of whisky. They walk around the guests, ending up at the top of the table, and then the chairman takes the whisky and pours out two large glasses. The piper stops playing, the haggis is put on the table and the whiskies are given to the piper and chef. A guest recites Robert Burns "Address to the Haggis", plunges a dirk (dagger) into the haggis and cuts a St Andrews cross on the top. After the meal there are toasts of whisky to the Queen and the immortal memory of Robert Burns and the evening continues with Burns songs and ends with everyone singing "Auld Lang Syne" and giving three rousing cheers for absent friends.

 

So how about holding your own Burns Supper? On the websites below you'll find a step-to-step-guide for the perfect Burns Night celebration, the recipes for a traditional Burns supper menu as well as songs and poems.