Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Robert Burns Night Coming Up: Don't miss the Presentation of the Haggis in your neighborhood!

Need a little psychological boost for the cold coming weekend? Surrender logic and pay homage to Robert Burns this week, the great Scot who composed Auld Lang Syne, and who could make the ridiculous sublime by composing dignified tongue-in-cheek poetry for a mouse ("the best laid schemes of mice and men") or a lump of sheep innards (Address to a Haggis")....The highlight of the evening is The Presentation of the Haggis when some sturdy men with kilts a flappin, play bagpipes and march into your cozy bar or town hall carrying a lump of ground meat on a silver tray. Sound silly? That's ok! It's wonderful! It lifts your spirits! Life is good again.

Robert Burns Suppers are held all over the world in honor of his birthday on January 25th. The dinner may occur on the 24th or 26th, check your local community listings. It's worth a 30 minute or an hour drive at least, if you have a designated driver, cause you'll need one. There will be poetry recitations by your favorite local Scotsman or Scotophile, plenty of singing, plenty of drinking, and of course, the bagpipes. And no, you don't have to like haggis or even eat it. There will almost certainly be a substitute offered. Haggis isn't most people's favorite dish, it's definitely an acquired taste. That's kind of the point: the humble little haggis made noble for a night, in honor of Robbie Burns's comforting humor, sweet melancholy, and grace.

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