Burns Night
Tonight Scots around the world will be celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. This tradition has been going for a couple of centuries and was started by Burns’ friends who held a supper in memoriam on the anniversary of his death, July 21st. However, the first Burns club wasn’t founded until 1801. This was set up in Greenock by merchants, many of whom had known Burns personally, to honour the bard. They held the first Burns supper on the anniversary of his birth, rather than his death, since when the celebrations have been held on January 25th.
Celebrations can be as small as an informal gathering with friends to a full blown banquet complete with songs, dancing, and, of course, the piping in and the address to the haggis. Whether you are at a large gathering or small one, the Toast to the Lassies and its response will bring some levity to your night. Bagpipes are the instruments most associated with Scotland but most ceilidhs rely on fiddle-based bands. However you plan to celebrate we wish you a music filled braw, bricht, moonlicht nicht the nicht.
Robert Burns was born on 25th January 1759 in Alloway, near Ayr, and is the National Bard of Scotland. He was from a farming background, his father was a farmer, his mother was a good singer and grew up listening to traditional Ayrshire stories and songs. Fortunately, his father had enough money to employ a teacher for the family and all the children received a good education. However, the family farm did not do well and Robert’s health suffered as a consequence of working the land. Later, Burns moved to the town of Kirkoswald (Ayrshire) to learn the trade of surveying from “Souter Johnny”, whom he made famous in his poems. From there he went to Irvine (Ayrshire) and learned flax dressing but the venture folded and he was left penniless. Meanwhile the family farm continued to decline and his father died almost bankrupt. The family kept what they could and moved to a rented farm in Mauchline (Ayrshire) where he met his future wife, Jean Armour. Whilst in Mauchline, he wrote prolifically including “My love is like a Red Red Rose” for Jean. However, given Burns circumstances, Jean’s family would not let him marry her.
It seems surprising to us now but Burns had difficulty getting his poems published and had to try to enlist subscribers. This is a list of wealthy people who will pay in advance for the book and whose names appear in the book making them look important. Burns was successful and his “Kilmarnock ” edition of 300 books was published and became successful. It did so well that he was invited to live in Edinburgh and produce a second edition. This he did in 1786 and 3,000 books were published of the “Edinburgh Edition” in 1787. In Edinburgh he kept good company and gave poetry readings to wealthy people. Mixing in the right circles, and being a man of means, meant that Jean Armour’s family were now happy to have him as a son in law.
After the birth of two sets of twins from which only one child survived, the Burns’ moved to the Borders to run a small farm. Robert started yet another career, this time in Customs and Excise. Whilst there he wrote many poems and songs. Although they were very happy the farm, much like Burns’ father’s, did not pay and Burns found it difficult running the farm and working in Customs and Excise. He eventually gave up the farm and all involvement with the land and moved to the town of Dumfries. Here he was productive as a poet. Robert and Jean had a total of nine children but only three survived to adulthood and there are no direct male descendants. Unfortunately his childhood illness and rheumatism came back in Dumfries and he gradually declined and died in 1796. He was buried on the day his ninth child was born. There was a huge funeral with over 10,000 people attending.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Filed under: Latest News
No Comments »
