In 2017, the Scottish Parliament enshrined the celebration as follows: Since then, worldwide Burns Clubs have held “Burns Night,” more commonly dubbed “Burns Supper,” annually. However, Burns is the more celebrated of the two, with Rabbie (as he’s frequently called) considered Scotland’s national poet and father of the Romantic movement.īurns’ status elevated through the years, achieving cult status in the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 2009, he was voted “the greatest Scot.” However, the first recorded celebration of Robert Burns occurred on July 21, 1801, in Ayrshire, Scotland, at Burns’ old home, the Burns Cottage.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind…” These lyrics, oft sung to usher in the new year, were, in fact, NOT penned by Scotland’s bard extraordinaire but rather curated, restructured, and enhanced by him to become one of the English-speaking world’s most endearing songs- some argue that it was written originally by James Watson, another famed Scot born a century before.

Auld lang syne rabbie burns