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Planning a Robbie Burns Supper for Burns Night

Celebrating Robbie Burns Day
This page provides the Order of the Burns Night Supper, as well as the the Selkirk Grace, the address to the haggis, the closing, and even a recipe for making your own haggis.
Whether you call it Robbie Burns Day or Robbie Burns Night, or just Burns night, this annual celebration of the Scottish poet's birthday is not to be missed by the Scottish and those who wish they were!
Robert Burns is also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire and (in Scotland) as The Bard. He lived from January 25, 1759 to July 21, 1796.
When is it?
Robbie Burns Day is observed annually on January 25. This was Burns' birthday.

The Order of the Burns Supper or Burns Night
Burns Nights or Burns Suppers are held world over, wherever there are folks of Scottish heritage. These celebrations can be formal or informal, but Scotch whiskey and haggis are staples.
A Burns Night will observe some or all of these components.
The Order of the Supper
1 Start of the evening
2. Host's welcoming speech
3. Entrance of the haggis
4. Supper
5. Loyal toast
6. Immortal memory
7. Appreciation
8. Toast to the lasses
9, Reply to the toast to the lasses
10. Other toasts and speeches
11. Works by Burns
12. Dancing
13. Closing
The Selkirk Grace
Attributed to Robert Burns
Traditionally, a Robbie Burns Day (or Night) celebration begins with the host's opening remarks, followed by the Selkirk grace, or prayer.
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae the Lord be thankit.
Following the grace, a soup course is served. Traditionally, this will be Scotch broth, cock-a-leekie soup or potato soup. The soup may be accompanied by Scottish Oat Bread.

Do you Prefer Canned Haggis?

In case making your own haggis sounds like a daunting activity, you might want to try the ready-made variety in a can.
Entrance of the Haggis
A high point of any Robbie Burns Day celebration
As everyone stands, a cook brings in the haggis and places it in front of the host. Usually, a piper playing an appropriate tune walks ahead of the cook. A Man's A Man for A' That or Brose & Butter are examples of two such melodies that the piper might choose.
A Haggis Recipe
Just in case you want to make your own
A traditional haggis is cooked in a sheep's stomach, if you can find one. Alternatively, you can use a plastic baking bag or 1 large sausage casing
If you are using a sheep's stomach, double the ingredients below:
1 sheep liver, heart,& lights (lungs)
1/2 lb beef suet
2 large onions
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp allspice
1 lb oatmeal, the old fashioned, slow ooking type
1 to 1 1/2 cup broth in which liver,heart and lungs were cooked
Method
Trim the liver, heart and lungs. Put in pot with water, bring to a boil and summer for an hour and a half or until cooked. Cool. Keep the broth.
Put the liver and heart through the meat grinder. Take the lungs, cut out as much gristle as possible and put them through a grinder also. Put the raw beef suet through the grinder.
Add all grinded meats and suet to a big pot. Peel, slice and chop the onions and add them to the meat in the pot. Add the salt and spices. Mix.
Toast or brown the oatmeal lightly in a heavy bottomed pot on top of the stove. Add the oatmeal to the pot of meats and mix thoroughly. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cup of broth from boiling the meat.
Add enough broth so the meat mixture sticks together when you grab a handful.
Stuff it in the sheeps stomach, plastic bag or sausage casing. Stuff it about 3/4 full if you are using a stomach or a plastic bag. If you are using a sheep's stomach, have the smooth side out and sew up the opening.
Wrap it in cheesecloth and be sure to prick it with a skewer so it won't explode from the steam. Prick it occasionally again during the early part of cooking.
Fill large pot with at least 1 gallon of water and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 4 to 5 hours.
Typically, you serve your Robbie Burns Day haggis with neeps (turnips) or clapshot (mashed turnips & potatoes)

Helpful Robbie Burns Day Links
- What's involved in a Burns Supper | VisitScotland
Find out what happens at a traditional Burns Supper and information on how to create your own fantastic Burns Night - Scottish Oat Bread Recipes
Try this traditional Scottish oat bread for your Robbie Burns Day celebration - bobdunsire.com
A forum devoted to piping and piping related topics. - Robert Burns Country: the official Robert Burns site
A collection of information pertaining to the Bard of Scotland.
Address to the Haggis
Said with some flare and drama
Upon receiving the haggis at a Robbie Burns Day supper, the host offers this poem:
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Well are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distill
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dicht,
An' cut you up wi' ready slicht,
Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmaist! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit" hums.
Is there that o're his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect scunner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his wallie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whistle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thristle.
Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!
Following the address to a haggis, a whiskey toast is offered, and guests then eat their dinner.
The Closing: Auld Lang Syne
At the closing of the Robbie Burns Day Supper, guests stand, join hands and sing Robbie Burns song, Auld Lang Syne. This is the original version as Burns wrote it.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' auld lang syne
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin’ auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin’ auld lang syne.
CHORUS
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
And gies a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,
for auld lang syne.
Robbie Burns Vids on YouTube
Robbie Burns Day Fan or Foe? - Please leave a message
I love Haggis, so Burns night celebrations are a Must in my house!
Wow the writer of Auld Lang Syne. Very cool subject and lens!
I've never heard of this holiday! I'll have to ask my Scottish friends more about their thoughts on it!
I recently discovered, through my genealogy research, that my great great grandparents came over from Scotland. I never even knew I was Scottish. I am so fascinated now. Still thinking on the whole haggis thing though :) Great page. Blessed!
As a good Scottish woman (I'm a Campbell on my Mother's side) I enjoy Robbie Burns. I'm a big fan.
I lived in Scotland for a while, and my friend had the best Burns night *ever*! It was informal, but we all read his poetry, ate lots of haggis, tatties and neeps, and broke out the best single malt in his honour :)
My Mum used to celebrate Robbie Burns Day, no haggis... but blood puddin' ewwwwwww
Nice to meet another Canadian!
Never knew he existed but through this lens I've gone and googled him and found a new poet to read! Thanks.
Great lens! I'm quite fond of Robbie Burns myself, and I do, indeed, love some haggis. Blessed by a SquidAngel.
now I know about this day, thank you for the write up.
We nearly had a brawl a number of years ago when mess members started acting rude during some poetry. Thankfully, no dirks were pulled. It is a great tradition and well befitting the son of Scotland.
Best haggis (also vegetarian one) is sold by McSweens the Butcher in Edinburgh - they do send them all over the world. I like haggis served with mashed potatoes and turnip. Yum. Am a big Burns fan and have visited his birthplace - a modest cottage in Ayrshire. Anyway, liked the lens!
Despite my Scottish roots, I'll have to say no to the haggis. Lensrolling this to my Auld Lang Syne lens.
Interesting lens! Wish a had read this before January 25.
We had veggie haggis last night! He was certainly a man to remember - good lens!
Oh yes Burns fan! Raised in Scotland what else could I be, and I still love haggis though I no longer indulge in the whisky. Blessed.
This is news to me, and I love all things Scottish (except haggis!). Putting it on my calendar!
This is my birthday! Hoots mon, your readers might be fascinated in the Electric Brae (featured here on Squidoo) too an amazing optical illusion just outside Ayr Scotland near where Rabbie Burns lived.
Love Robbie Burns. *-*Blessed*-* and featured on Sprinkled with Stardust
I'm always fascinated in reading interesting squidoo lenses. Yours is one of them..
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Wonderful! How did I miss this one? I live in Scotland and would love to add this to my All About Scotland lens where I've grouped together my own Scottish lenses and some favourites from other lensmasters.
Congratulations new Giant!
My Celtic duo the Pratie Heads used to do Robert Burns night at the Royal Mile Pub in the DC area but it got too risky traveling that far in January. Our van slid off the road in ice in Richmond Virginia coming home and I, quite pregnant, had to stagger with my partner Bob through the snow to get help. Not worth it. I miss it, though. Thanks for the memories!
I've never been to a Burns supper, but we did go to a Scottish festival a few years ago and it was great! Very nice lens!
You've been nominated for Lens Of The Week!
Very unique and fun lens! Welcome to the Let's Party group. :)
This is great! 5 out of 5 Love Robbie Burns and Robbie Burns dinners! Our Scottish relatives actually don't fancy haggis, but they get them for us Canadians when we visit. Best memory of our last visit to Scotland - eating haggis lasagna in an old stone pub up by Lock Ness. Marvellous!
Great lens *****
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