Burns Supper

Today is the 250th birthday of Scotland's national poet and most beloved native son, Robert "Rabbie" Burns. Last night all over the world the Scots celebrated with traditional Burns suppers. We attended the Business School's supper, which was very, very fun. To kick of the festivities, the traditional meal, haggis (which is oats and spices baked inside a sheep's intestine), is paraded around the room with a bagpipe accompaniment:



Then the Haggis is ritually "killed" - the Scots pretend it's an animal apparently. Burns's famous "Address to a Haggis" is recited and the Haggis is toasted with a good Scottish whisky. I've been having trouble uploading the video of part of this toast - so I found this one on youtube...which approximates pretty well the experience. Skip ahead to about the one minute mark.



Here's what the main course looks like - haggis (the brown stuff), Neeps (Turnips), and Tatties (mashed potatos). I was surprised at how much really liked it - very spicy and good. I'm definitely ordering it again while I'm here.




After supper, there are more toasts - one to the Immortal Memory of Rabbie Burns, One to the Lasses, and a Reply from the Lasses - all reciting some verse from the bard.




We heard what is probably his most famous poem, My Luve is Like a Red Red Rose. I think Burns is better heard than read. Click here for a version read by none other than Prince Charles:

O my Luve's like a red , red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry .

Till a' the seas gang dry , my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve !
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve ,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

Afterwards, at our dinner, a band played and they tried to teach us some traditional Scottish Ceilidh dances. It reminded me a little of the Bavarian Festival back home in Frankenmuth - lots of alcohol-fueld jumping around by sweaty men, many in traditional garb. They even had an accordian playing. Here's a taste of the one of the first dances...before things got a little sloppy.



The night finishes with a rousing sing-a-long of Auld Lang Syne, which is another Rabbie Burns composition (and explains why I never understood the words to that song...its in Old Scots). Oh, did I mention I dressed for the occasion?