Celebration in Scotland: haggis, Burns Night and Burns Suppers

Many people eat haggis in Scotland on 25 January for Burns Night. This is just a week away!

Burns Night commemorates Scotland's most famous poet and songwriter, Robert Burns, who lived over two hundred years ago.

Haggis is a tasty savoury pudding, made from the insides of a sheep with oatmeal and pepper.

Traditionally with the haggis you have mashed potatoes ("tatties"), and mashed turnip ("neeps"). Sometimes people cook a Scottish soup to begin with, such as leek and potato, chicken and leek, or "cullen skink", which is a smoked fish soup served with cream. Afterwards, they may have a traditional Scottish dessert, such as "cranachan", or trifle.

Haggis is a tasty savoury pudding, which you can buy and eat all year round, although it is the special dish for a Burns supper.

People at home may just have haggis, neeps, and potatoes for their Burns Supper; if you go out to a public celebration in a restaurant or hotel, or at a club, you will certainly get several courses!

When it is time for the haggis, in a big public event, somebody brings in the haggis on a platter, with a bagpiper playing! It is ceremonial!

Then somebody will address the haggis, reciting Robert Burns's praise poem to the pudding. At a special point in the poem, this person usually cuts the haggis open, so that the contents spill out, ready for serving.

Afterwards, there may be more reciting of Burns's poems, and singing of his songs.

You can buy haggis the rest of the year round too - you can even get it as a takeaway in a fish and chip shop!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_supper

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Address_to_a_Haggis_(annotated)

https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/food-drink/haggis/

To find out more, or how to make cranachan, a traditional Scottish dessert, you can check out my lesson on traditional Scottish food.

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