Article
Burns Day celebrations
January 25, 2011
Today, 25 January, is the birthday of Scotland’s great poet, Robert Burns, and this evening Scots all over the world will celebrate Burns Night– a tradition first begun in 1802 – in remembrance of Scotland’s national bard.
Robert Burns was born 251 years ago on this day in 1759. He died 37 years later of pneumonia in 1796. His poems and songs celebrate the ‘common’ man and brotherhood. He was a poet ahead of his time and spoke of things common to the masses in their own tongue.
The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum has recently been inaugurated and offers an insightful overview of his life and work at the cottage in Alloway where the poet was born. Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond has called all Scotish schoolchildren to visit this museum, which will serve as a potential source for historical background and documentation on Scotland’s national bard.
For many Burns experts, this year’s celebration will have a special meaning, owing to the recent discovery of a letter written by Burns on 13 May 1789 to a professor of medicine in Edinburgh. The letter was found in a castle, and it contains an earlier version of his poem ‘On Seeing a Wounded Hare’.
A flash mob congregated this afternoon to sing songs by Robert Burns outside St Giles’ Cathedral on the Royal Mile, and various other events will be taking place in Edinburgh today and tomorrow. These range from the classic Burns suppers, to poetry readings, poetry performances, ceilidhs, comedies and jazz.
Scotland’s beloved poet is not only a symbol of identity and culture in his country, but also abroad. Today, people from around the world – including in Canada, Japan, Dubai, Thailand, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Norway – will also be celebrating their Scottish roots. Read more here.
Robert Burns was born 251 years ago on this day in 1759. He died 37 years later of pneumonia in 1796. His poems and songs celebrate the ‘common’ man and brotherhood. He was a poet ahead of his time and spoke of things common to the masses in their own tongue.
The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum has recently been inaugurated and offers an insightful overview of his life and work at the cottage in Alloway where the poet was born. Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond has called all Scotish schoolchildren to visit this museum, which will serve as a potential source for historical background and documentation on Scotland’s national bard.
For many Burns experts, this year’s celebration will have a special meaning, owing to the recent discovery of a letter written by Burns on 13 May 1789 to a professor of medicine in Edinburgh. The letter was found in a castle, and it contains an earlier version of his poem ‘On Seeing a Wounded Hare’.
A flash mob congregated this afternoon to sing songs by Robert Burns outside St Giles’ Cathedral on the Royal Mile, and various other events will be taking place in Edinburgh today and tomorrow. These range from the classic Burns suppers, to poetry readings, poetry performances, ceilidhs, comedies and jazz.
Scotland’s beloved poet is not only a symbol of identity and culture in his country, but also abroad. Today, people from around the world – including in Canada, Japan, Dubai, Thailand, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Norway – will also be celebrating their Scottish roots. Read more here.
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