Paying homage to Robert Burns
The Freemasons, Coronation Lodge, hosted a night of cultural delight last Saturday evening in honour of the poet, Robert Burns.
The Freemasons, Coronation Lodge, hosted a night of cultural delight last Saturday evening in honour of the poet, Robert Burns.
Robert Burns is considered a pioneer of the Romantic movement and viewed as Scotland’s national poet.
After his death in July 1796, his works inspired founders of liberalism and socialism. In honour of his work and life, Freemasons across the globe annually host a supper on the Saturday closest to Burns’s birthday, which was on January 25, 1759.
The first Burns Supper took place in 1801, when nine of Burns’s acquaintances met for dinner in Burns Cottage in Alloway to celebrate his life and work.
The Master of Ceremonies was a local minister by the name of Hamilton Paul, and as he and his fellow guests shared a Masonic brotherhood with Burns, an evening resembling a lodge ceremonial was devised.
Haggis was served and Burns’s works were recited and sung.
The dinner proved to be such a jolly experience, that all nine friends agreed to meet again the following year for a birthday dinner. Little did they know, their dinner would become an annual Burns Supper.
The annual event follows the original format, where a haggis is prepared and served to guests. A poem, Address to a Haggis is read, and guests enjoy an evening of traditional Scottish cuisine and some of Robert Burns’s work.
The sounds of bagpipes ensured the evening in Newcastle was on a par with similar celebrations all over the world.
Funds raised at the event will go to charity.
