Robert Burns an' a' that

Thomas Hamilton's Burns Memorial in Edinburgh

Every year in Scotland, events are held on and around the 25th January, to commemorate the life of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, born in Ayrshire in 1759. 

Famed as the author of songs and poems including Ae Fond Kiss, Tam O'Shanter and To A Mouse, Burns also provided the lyric for what is sometimes considered Scotland's alternative national anthem, Auld Lang Syne:

          Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
          and never brought to mind?
          Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
          and days of auld lang syne?

'Burns Suppers', as these annual commemorative events are often called, feature recitals of some of Burns's most famous and popular works, including the ceremonial presentation of a haggis to dinner guests (served with 'neeps and tatties' - mashed turnips and/or swede and potatoes), as well as music and dancing.

But the tradition of a Burns Supper, whilst an essential part of Scots culture and popular lore, is actually less than 100 years old. The first event was hosted in Edinburgh 1816, when "one hundred gentlemen dined as part of the first public celebration of the birthday of the poet Robert Burns". (An earlier celebration, in Greenock in 1802, had been held on the 29th January, wrongly believed to be Burns's date of birth before the true date was discovered the following year.)

One attendee at the celebration in Edinburgh that night in 1816 was Walter Scott, who proposed that a similar celebration should be held every three years - in fact Burns is now commemorated annually at events right across Scotland (and the world!).

Visitors to Edinburgh can explore Burns, his work and his history, at a variety of sites across the city:

• The Burns Monument, designed by Thomas Hamilton, stands on Regent Road, five minutes walk from the east end of Princes Street, against a panoramic backdrop of Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Park. Although this looks like a mausoleum or grave site, Burns is actually buried at Dumfries in the Scottish Borders.

• Clarinda's Tearoom on the Canongate section of the Royal Mile is named for Agnes Maclehose, one of the women with whom Burns engaged in romantic affairs. He wrote prolific letters to Agnes in which he addressed her as 'Clarinda' while he was 'Sylvander'.  It was for Agnes/Clarinda that he wrote Ae Fond Kiss:

                                                            Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
                                                            Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
                                                            ...
                                                            Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
                                                            Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
                                                            Never met or never parted,
                                                            We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

• Clarinda is buried in the graveyard of Canongate Kirk, where she (and her relationship with Burns) is commemorated with a memorial plaque.

• Outside the Canongate Kirk you'll also find a statue of the poet Robert Fergusson, who is charged with being a significant inspiration on Burns, and without whom Burns may never have reached the literary heights that see him remembered and commemorated today. 

For more information about Robert Burns, visit the Writers' Museum, in Lady Stair's Close off the Lawnmarket on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. This free museum is a fascinating  resource for those interested in Burns and any of Scotland's other great literary figures, Robert Louis Stevenson and Walter Scott.

Explore more of Burns's Edinburgh with a private walking tour of the city!

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