Remembering Robert Burns, the Bard of Scotland

Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, was considered a pioneer of the Romantic movement.

After his death in July 1796, his works inspired founders of liberalism and socialism.

The Freemasons Coronation Lodge, Scottish Rite, will be hosting a Burns Supper on January 30 from 6pm, in his memory.

Freemasons across the globe annually host a supper on the Saturday closest to Burns’s birthday in January, 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, all nine friends agreed to meet again the following year for a birthday dinner in honour of the famous writer. Little did they know, that their dinner become an annual Burns Supper.

The format of the evening 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 Burns Supper will take place at the Coronation Lodge in Hardwick Street. Interested parties may contact David McFarlane on 084 814 0430.