Burns Night

Burns Night, or Burns Supper, is celebrated in Scotland and among poetry communities outside Scotland to commemorate the birthday of poet Robert Burns, who was born on this date in 1759 and died on 21 July 1796. The first such supper was held on the first anniversary of his death, and was hosted by Burns’ friends. The first, and still functioning, Burns Club was founded in 1801 to celebrate the significance of Burns’ poetry to Scottish-Gaelic culture.

According to Scottish Parliament, ‘The Parliament welcomes the annual celebration of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, which is held on 25 January each year to mark the Bard’s birthday; considers that Burns was one of the greatest poets and that his work has influenced thinkers across the world; notes that Burns’ first published collection, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, also known as the Kilmarnock Edition, published in 1786, did much to popularise and champion the Scots language, and considers that this is one of his most important legacies; believes that the celebration of Burns Night is an opportunity to raise awareness of the cultural significance of Scots and its status as one of the indigenous languages of Scotland, and further believes in the importance of the writing down of the Scots language to ensure its continuation through written documentation, as well as oral tradition.’