Burns Night

Last night, I had the absolute pleasure of spending the evening with my Scottish neighbors.  Mark and Pam live across the street from me and have been so incredibly kind to me.  They invited me over for a special dinner last night to celebrate Burns Night, a Scottish celebration honoring the life of poet Robert Burns.

Robert Burns may or may not be a familiar name to you, but I guarantee you would recognize some of his work, such as "Auld Lang Syne."  He wrote hundreds of poems, often about Scottish traditions and ways of life.  Each year, in Scotland, a celebration is thrown on his birthday.  These grand celebrations often include the presentation of the haggis, bag pipes and Scottish dances.  Why haggis?  Well, one of his best known poems is "Address to a Haggis":

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of 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 distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut ye up wi' ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they strech an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! 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 owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bluidy flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o 'fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!

In keeping with the Burns Night traditions, Mark and Pam fixed haggis, blood pudding, carrots, potatoes, and turnips (swedes).  Now, most of my friends know that when it comes to food I'm not usually all too adventurous, but this is the "year of yes" and so, of course I tried them!  I knew, going into the meal, that haggis was some sort of body parts that I don't typically eat, so I wisely went at it with an open mind and did not google it ahead of time.  This was probably for the best, as I really did enjoy it!  Haggis, for those amongst you who are curious, according to Wikipedia " is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach."  Blood pudding however, I did know of, which in all honesty was probably the mistake.  I did try it, and it was not too bad, but I think my mind overcame my tastebuds as blood pudding is basically a type of sausage that has been cooked with blood.  To round out the traditions, we also had a little bit of whiskey, some great Scottish tunes, and a lush dessert of whipped cream, raspberries and oats.

The meal was lovely and quite a new experience for me, but the company was even grander than the meal!  I got to cuddle with their wee one and even read her a bedtime story - simple joys in life that I realized I really had been missing out on.  We had lovely conversations: catching up, sharing stories and learning a bit of Scottish history.  I think Robert Burns would have been pleased with the way he was celebrated last night!