What’s up Robert, Robbie, Rabbie?

The celebrated poet laureate of Scotland, Robert Burns, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland January 25, 1759. Mr. Burns suffered the indignity and hardship of grinding poverty growing up. He learned to appreciate the oppressed working-class people of Scotland and how to enjoy the meagre pleasures in the life: a love of song, dance, drink and of course the lassies. He leveraged modest education to become one of the most respected and revered literary figures of all time. He never forgot his past but also learned to charm and cultivate the friendships and support of leading figures in Scottish society. He held strong and controversial social and political views. He had twelve children from four different women, nine from his loyal and loving wife Jean Armour. All this for a man who died at the relatively tender age of 37 years old.

The man and his literature has attracted study, attention and the adulation of many. The first memorial dinner was held by friends and neighbours in Alloway, Ayrshire, the poet’s birthplace, in July 1801. Nine guests sat down to a memorial supper of haggis and sheeps’ head. Developing a memorial celebration was ripe for a Scotland with Enlightened values and polite tastes, but still very much alive among the rustic, the proletarian and bawdy elements of peasant culture. ** The first Burns Club would emerge in Greenock where a memorial supper was held in 1802. More clubs and celebrations arose with the aim of protecting distinctive Scottish cultural practices and their annual suppers offered a way of reaffirming of what it means to be Scottish.

As the Scottish diaspora spread to England, Wales, Australia, Canada, the United States and elsewhere so, too, did the celebration of the Bard. Given the creativity and imagination of Scots, different practices and names appeared. Predictably there arose some strong, sometimes thrawn feelings about what was right and should be done to honour Mr Burns. What should we call the man: Robert, Robbie, Rabbie, Rab or, like his family, Robin? His actual last name was Robert Burness, What do we call the celebrations? What are the “real” traditions, their history and who sets them? Practices differ widely today and are worth considering a little more closely.

My first experience with Mr. Burns came as a wee lad eating my porridge at my granny Amy’s dining room table in Weston, ON. She was daughter of the Chief of Renfrewshire Constabulary, with my grandfather being the son of the town clerk of Greenock just north of Ayrshire in the Bard’s old stompin’ grounds. Their dining room was thus adorned with Royal Doulton plates and other Burns artifacts. Curiously, on the same wall was a large painting of a handsome springer spaniel. I heard many stories about the Bard and spaniel, who was as loved by my grandparents as much as the poet himself. He (spaniel, not the Bard) held an honoured place on a chair sitting at their dinner table. It was suggested that he was more polite and interesting than many a guest. His name was Rabbie, or Rab for short. None of this made an impression on me. I grew up “Canadian” and attended the occasional Robbie Burns dinner with no further contemplation.

Recently at the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO) we were confronted by a Scottish gentleman who vehemently called us out, saying our event “ROBBIE” Burns Supper and various other aspects of our approach was WRONG! SSO dutifully renamed it the BURNS SUPPER and CEILIDH. Unconvinced I investigated. My research concluded that things were not so clear. In Scotland we often see the formal version of his name as Robert Burns, as in his poetry. But we also see Rab and Rabbie, the names so familiar from my childhood. The light finally went on about the trusted dog’s name! Farther afield Robert is less common. Its Robbie. Perhaps a middle ground between Robert and Rabbie in the colonies of old are still reflected in Canada, Australia and the US?

Names aside — what about Burns celebrations around the world? In Edinburgh the Rabbie Burns Ball is a black-tie formal event held at the Ghillie Dhu Ballroom. Numerous pubs have their own celebrations, suppers and ceilidhs, including at the Scottish Café in Edinburgh. In the U.S. a formal Burns Night is held by the American Scottish Foundation in New York City.

In Canada, St. Andrews and other Societies hold formal dinners, or in Montreal, its a Soiree Burns. Equally prevalent in North America are more informal pub nights and suppers, not to mention private home parties and feasts. You could attend a ball, or a fun dance party and whisky event and dinner at the Polo Lounge in Sydney, Australia. The Scottish Society of Ottawa’s Burns Night is a hybrid event. It has some formal elements but also a fun Celtic band and contemporary dancing.

For supper haggis is ubiquitous. Tatties and neeps too. These may be served straight up or with such gourmet flourishes as Ramsay of Carlyle, Haggis Swede Fondant, Smoked Potato Puree and Highland Park Whisky, Beef Daubee, Dauphinoise Potatoes.

Song and dance abound reels, jigs, waltzes, strathspeys. Highland sword and other dances. Fine single malt whiskies and blends. But gin is making a comeback along with beers, wine and ales. The dress varies from formal black-tie, kilts and formal gowns to “Donald’s troosers ” and tartan mini skirts. You often find an eclectic mix of attire in events too.

Then there are the toasts: “The Address to the Haggis”, “Toast to the Lassies”, “The Lassies’ Reply” to the “Immortal Memory”. Some are witty and profound formal speeches and tributes, others less so with clever humour and repartee. What everybody agrees on is that drunken ramblings with ribald jokes do not honour Robert Burns nor his views. The original “Toast to the Lassies” is based on Robert Burns being a member of the male only Tarbolton Bachelors’ Club which he was instrumental in forming in November 1780. It was a debating society - and one of the rules stated… “that every man proper for a member, must have a frank, open, honest heart; …and be a professed lover of one or more of the female sex” ...so, a toast to the absent mistresses (the mothers of the club members) was the final act of each meeting. The first Burns Suppers were male only too - and so the lassies were toasted in their absence. Any thought of inclusion of women at all was unimaginable in Burns’ time so his beliefs and approach were revolutionary.

As Mr .O’Byrne shared with us, Robert Burns was a man of complexity and lived an incredibly diverse and mercurial life. He was a man who embraced diversity and good humour. He would be the life of any party in any situation or company. He would likely be delighted at all the variety and fun and people and drink and aye —the lassies. This inclusiveness and fun is also what helped Scots make their way in the world. This Burns Night make your toast to Robert, Robbie, Rabbie or Rab. Enjoy the festivities and fun no matter how presented, and rest assured, Mr. Burns would have loved it that way too.

** University of Glasgow.

The Scottish Society of Ottawa promotes an awareness and appreciation of Scottish culture, and its significant contribution to Canada through widespread public engagement among as many Canadians of all backgrounds as possible. Burns Day is one of the foremost celebrations of literature, song, dance and fellowship for our friends and members.

By: Andrew, Drew, Andy MacCulloch – Director of Communication and Kilt Skate