Whisky. Poetry. Haggis?! Welcome to Burns Day, a party for Scotland's beloved poet

The name of Robert Burns might not be familiar, but every New Year’s Eve — or Hogmanay, as it is called in his native home Scotland — millions of people sing Auld Lang Syne, a poem that he wrote in 1788.

Every Jan. 25 — on Sunday this year — is Burns Night, a global celebration of the life and legacy of the Scottish poet and lyricist.

Several events are happening in Los Angeles, too, which I can attest are rather zany affairs — if only because of the sheer number of tartan kilts in sight, the haunting, piercing but tuneful drone of bagpipes, which can only bring to mind a windswept mountain top, and a generous dash of whiskys (plural). More on that later.

People enjoy a Burns supper in the red room at Burns Cottage Pavilion on Jan. 23, 2014, in Alloway, Scotland.

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Scotland

Some 30,000 square miles in size and home to around 5.5 million people today, Scotland was officially united with England in 1707 when their two parliaments became one and created Great Britain.

However, as you may have seen in movies like Braveheart, Rob Roy, and even Trainspotting, a streak of fierce independence has run through Scotland for centuries, so don’t make the mistake of assuming that, just because the countries are joined geographically, that English and Scottish people are more or less the same.

Besides historical rebels, beautiful countryside and world-class golf courses, Scotland has always punched well above its weight: penicillin, television, the telephone, artificial refrigeration, and the raincoat — “the mac” — were all invented by Scots. Naturalist John Muir, the Father of the National Parks,” was born in Dunbar, and Nessie is perhaps the most legendary of all cryptids.

The Bard of Scotland

But it’s Robert Burns — often known as Rabbie — whose name and work has lasted centuries as Scotland’s National Poet.

A statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns in London.

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In 1796, Burns died at just 37 — on the same day his son Maxwell was born — and he had worked almost exclusively on traditional Scottish songs during the latter stages of his life, which ensured that several hundred folk songs, like Auld Lang Syne, were not lost to history.

A (inter)national affair

Burns Night is a tradition that was begun by some of his friends in 1801. Scottish people and any other admirers and friends of Scotland will gather together for poetry readings, music, dancing, and of course a meal of haggis. For those who don’t know what it is, it’s rather an odd-looking meal, and rather an acquired taste.

A bagpiper will lead the haggis, the traditional centerpiece, into the dining room, where a poem written by Burns called Address to a Haggis is read aloud before the haggis is dramatically cut into pieces for everyone to share.

The poem in question describes the delicacy as having “buttocks like a distant hill,” among other writerly flourishes. Read for yourself here.

Members of the public gather at the Robert Burns statue, as part of events taking place to celebrate the birth of poet Robert Burn on Jan. 25, 2012, in Dumfries, Scotland.

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When I was a child, I was told that haggises were small, furry creatures that lived in the Scottish Highlands and were too clever to be caught, hence you rarely saw them on the dinner plate. Buttock size was not mentioned.

That’s not true of course, and this might be why: haggis is made from minced sheep’s heart, liver and lungs mixed with oatmeal, suet, onions and spices then traditionally boiled inside the sheep’s stomach. It’s savory and earthy, somewhat rich and a little gamey. Maybe not something you eat slice after slice, perhaps.

Haggis for sale at Crombies butchers ahead of Burns night on January 22, 2016, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Over dinner and helpings of haggis, raucous toasts are celebrated with “drams” or small glasses of whisky — surely Scotland’s most famous export — and there are recitations of some of Burns’s other poems, like A Red, Red Rose, Ae Fond Kiss, or Tam o’Shanter.

The latter was the name of a drunken farmer who taunts the devil and is chased by witches in a poem written by Burns in 1791. He wears a tam o’shanter, a flat woolen cap with a pom-pom in the center.

Haggis, with bread and butter served at Tam O’Shanter in Los Feliz.

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Angelenos might recognize that as the name of the restaurant and pub in Los Feliz.

I went to my first Burns Night in L.A. last year, and I must say, that despite being an Englishman I was heartily welcomed, and I did enjoy my taste of the famous dish — though the bagpipes, also an acquired taste for this “sassenach” are yet to be something on my regular playlist.

L.A. does Burns Night... with Brian Cox and more

Festooned with Scottish flags, souvenirs and regalia, “the Tam” is one of the venues that will be hosting its 41st Burns Nights on Jan. 27 and 28, with two seatings each night.

Also, the St. Andrew’s Society — named in honor of the Scottish patron saint - will host their sold-out Burns Night on January 24 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. It’s their 96th event, and singing for his supper as the winner of their annual Robert Burns Award is Dundee-born actor Brian Cox, who played the ruthless Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession (and was in Braveheart).

Alternatively, the St. Andrews University Alumni network here in L.A. is also celebrating a day early, on Jan. 24, 6 - 9 p.m. at MacLeod’s Brewery in Van Nuys.

It’s the very first Burns Night celebration organized by Sammy Ginsberg, a self-described, home-grown “Valley Girl” who left L.A. in 2012 to study at St. Andrews, a venerable institution founded in 1413. It’s where Prince William met his wife-to-be, Kate Middleton.

Ginsberg fell hard and fast in love with Scotland, describing her first visit as “magical.”

As an aspiring writer and poet, Ginsberg was especially inspired by the reverence for literature that she found.

“Scotland is a rich place filled with imagination that truly loves writers and I think we can learn a lot from them,” Ginsberg said, adding that was one reason why she co-started the Los Feliz Writers Festival.

Alongside the neeps, tatties and haggis there will be haggis pizza — surely a new culinary innovation — as well as Scottish beer and music from bagpiper John McLelan Allan, who has appeared in many movies, TV shows and has worked with performers such as Korn, The Chieftains, and Michael Flatley.

Though Ginsberg developed a taste for fish and chips when she was in Scotland. “That was my stress food when I was in the library on a deadline crunch,” she said.

She admits that it took a few more attempts before she became a fan of haggis.

Nearly 680,000 people with a Scottish or Ulster-Scots background call Southern California home, according to the 2020 census, so “slàinte” to all of you, and try to get hold of a bottle of Irn-Bru — an electric orange-colored soda from Scotland — as it’s said to be the best cure for a hangover.

“It really gets you going again!” Ginsberg said.