Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Ode to Haggis: A Celebration of Robbie Burns

MBA and I celebrated Burns Night, a celebration of Robbie Burns' birthday, with a gathering of friends. The celebration revolves around haggis and all things Scottish.
 
Check out all that haggis!

This is a real-live glimpse of the intermediary stage of haggis. It's baked in this shell, then cut open to eat. It comes out looking like the stuff in the above dish I'm holding.

On this particular occasion, it was the birthday of Robbie Burns. Certain traditions are practiced on Burns birthday, including giving an Ode to the Haggis. 

One of they key celebrations on Burns Night is the Ode to Haggis. On this occasion, our friend Marilyn coached Ian (an American) on how to give the Ode.
Here's Ian in action! (And don't worry -- he's supposed to have that knife in his hand!)
 
When he got to this part: "His knife see rustic Labour dight"-- he dug the knife into the haggis.
 
I have absolutely no idea why part of the tradition is to stab the haggis. Odd -- right?? However, I did enjoy my haggis with neeps and tatties. 

If you want to learn more about Burns Night, go visit this BBC website for loads of info.

1 comment:

Christine Z said...

are the photos of Ian blury 'cause you were laughing so hard? I was :) Very fun night!

 
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