Burns Day

January 25 marked the 250th birthday of Robert (Rabbie) Burns - a.k.a. Scotland's favorite son or The Bard. Burns was a poet and lyricist and is now the most celebrated literary figure in Scotland, though in Edinburgh it seems Sir Walter Scott is a close second. Much of Burns' writing is in Scots which requires an interesting attempt at deciphering on our part. The most likely piece of work that you Americans out there may know of Burns' writing is Auld Lang Syne, the song most classically sung on New Year's Eve. Here's a little taste of Scots for you, the first couple of verses from Auldt Lang Syne:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

The traditional way of celebrating of Burns Night (the anniversary of Burns' birthday) is attending a Burns Supper, which we did on Friday night. It was the most cultural Scottish experience we've had yet! The format of traditional Burns suppers has not changed since his death in 1796. It traditionally includes a Ceilidh (pronounced: kay-lee), which is a traditional social dance (for you Colorado folk, think square dancing to Scottish folk music!) and a tribute to The Bard through several readings of his poetry and closing with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

Haggis is the most famous traditional Scottish dish; why, however, we do not understand. It is made of minced sheep "plucks" (heart, liver, and lungs) and is prepared by boiling it in a sheep's stomach - think of it as a sausage. Thank goodness they served vegetarian haggis as well!

Despite these questionable ingredients, haggis is indeed a well loved dish here in Scotland and is served in nearly every pub around. Rabbie Burns loved haggis so much he composed a poem titled Address to a Haggis, which is now the most famous poem recited at a Burns Supper, just after the presentation of the haggis.

The Burns supper we went to was hosted by the L'arch Community here in Edinburgh. We were introduced to L'arsh through a friend of ours who works in the community here. We were really impressed with their vision of living in community with adults with learning disabilities, giving dignity and value to every member. Simply by 'doing life together' the assistants are able to offer the members with learning disabilities the opportunity to do things that they would rarely have a chance to do if living in a formal care facility.

The highlight of the night, perhaps the month, for me was watching the gentleman in the photo below respond to the tune of Amazing Grace when it was played by the string band. He slowly walked up to the stage and sought help to position the microphone in the right spot. The band started the tune over again and he sang, truly from the depths of his heart, as the room fell quiet and listened. I caught a glimpse of the beauty of pure worship in the room that night and it humbled me more than I can say. All evening this man had caught my attention because he reminded me so much of David, my dad's cousin who passed away not too long ago after a full and long life. He brought so much joy to so many people's lives and it was a treat to be caught up in many memories of him throughout our evening.