On heroes and haggis: why we pay tribute to Robert Burns each January

Those of Scottish heritage, or who hold an appreciation for its history, will no doubt have 25 January marked out to celebrate the birthday of famed Scotch poet Robert Burns. Read on to learn why Scotland’s Bard is so well-loved.

Ascending from humble beginnings as a farmer’s son in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland, to a position as a key figure in Edinburgh’s intellectual circles, Robert (Rabbie) Burns possessed a social versatility that would give rise to his extraordinarily broad appeal. Despite his success, he stayed doggedly alert to his roots, a moral and artistic decision that would be his making. Even so, like many great talents, he battled with the crippling self-doubt we might recognise today as imposter syndrome.

Born in 1759, Burns remains a much eulogised Scottish hero – albeit a flawed one. Fond of a drink - and even fonder of (unavailable) women – he was something of a flaneur, though certainly not an idle one. Rather, he was a prolific writer who built a remarkable canon of work in his short thirty-seven years, leaving an indelible mark on literature and culture. With his distinctive writing style and ubiquitous themes of love, nature, and politics, this sixteenth-century poet speaks to us all, across the centuries.

A Romantic Rebel

Largely self-taught, his work centres on the joys and struggles of ordinary people, paying unapologetic – nay, proud – homage to the working-class language and folk traditions he was raised on. This intrigued and delighted the literati of Scotland’s capital while striking a chord with everyone else. The depth and insight in his words capture the pain, humour, and mundanity of life, love, friendship, and the human condition.

Verses infused with empathy and truth, asking to be delivered with wit and irreverence, are what sustains Burns’ legacy. His verse has a rare ability to burrow beneath the skin of all who encounter it, from the colourful comedy of ‘Tam O’Shanter’ to the profound simplicity of ‘My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose’. Few of us will not have experienced the skin-prickling nostalgia of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. And the second stanza in ‘To a Mouse’ could easily be a lament to today’s industrialised devastation of the natural world:

‘I’m truly sorry man’s dominion

Has broken Nature’s social union’

‘Address to a Haggis’

Burns made the first of many visits to Edinburgh at the age of 27. His time there would be pivotal to establishing his professional reputation, as his ability to network up and down the social strata granted him relationships with important figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. The city’s literary society responded to his work with both praise and criticism. Throughout, he maintained a firm sense of social justice and was an outspoken vanguard for it, in his work and in life. He never in any meaningful sense gained financial success from his life’s work, and eventually made a heavy-hearted return to the manual labour of the farm - a move perhaps as poetic as it is unfortunate. 

Today, Burns’ spirit is strongly felt in the city, where admirers can take a tour to retrace his steps, stop by his statue in West Princes Street Gardens, or visit the Writers’ Museum on the Royal Mile to see artefacts observing his life and legacy. If visiting in January, conclude your trip with a Burns Night supper of neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes), and haggis at the Balmoral Hotel. Don tartan attire and enjoy the traditional reading of ‘Address to a Haggis’ as the dish is cut open – a moment laden with cultural significance. Or celebrate the way Rabbie would have – settle in a tweed armchair and sample a dram or two at the Balmoral’s whisky bar, SCOTCH. However you choose to honour this most playful, perceptive Bard on his birthday, be sure to do it with poetry.

To arrange a special Burns night celebration while staying at The Balmoral, please contact our dedicated concierge team via concierge.balmoral@roccofortehotels.com