Burns Night

Robert Burns was born on 25th January 1759, the eldest of seven children born to William and Agnes Burnes. The poet changed the spelling to Burns. His father was determined that he should have as good an education as possible and Robert Burns started writing poetry from a young age. The family were not very successful farmers, and had a hard life. Robert Burns decided to emigrate to Jamaica to work on a plantation. He wrote some poems, and had them published, to raise money for his journey. They were so popular, that he changed his mind and went to Edinburgh instead. While there, he wrote the words to many traditional Scottish songs, known today. The most famous is undoubtedly Auld lang syne, sung all over the world on New Year's Eve. He eventually moved to Dumfries.

Burns Night is celebrated with great ceremony every year on 25th January. I have never been to a proper Burns night celebration, but have heard a lot about them. There is usually a piper, who plays the bagpipes, to pipe in the haggis, which is the central dish of the evening. There will be recitals of Robert Burns' poetry, speeches and dancing. There is often a final speech to the lassies. The whole evening is conducted with spirit and humour. It probably reflects the spirit of his poetry, which  shows his compassionate and generous nature. Two of his most famous poems are (O my Luve's like) A red, red rose and Tam O' Shanter. There is a bust of him in Westminster Abbey, in Poets' Corner.

My Uncle Les liked saying this extract from Tam O' Shanter:

But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white-then melts for ever;

Happy Burns Night.

PS. I said above that I have never celebrated Burns Night, but that's not quite true. I have never been to a proper one with a Piper, haggis, and dancing. However, over thirty-five years ago, when I first came to Italy, I made friends with a Welsh girl, called Eiralys, this means "Snowdrop", in Welsh.
It was largely due to her that I got a job, in the town where my boyfriend's parents lived. We warmed to each other, from the start, and on Burns Night, we organised a party. She made a cake with candles and we invited some Italian friends. So there we were, an English woman, a Welsh woman, not a Scot in sight, just feeling patriotic and a bit closer to home. Our Italian was limited at the time. She was already married to her Italian husband, she had met him on a train, and it was love at first sight.
We had a lovely evening and drunk to Robbie Burns. The next day, she told me they had all rang up to ask whose birthday it was.
Eiralys went back to Britain not long after, but every Burns Night I especially think of her.