Burns Night

What is Burn’s Night?

Burns Night is a celebration of the life and poetry of Scottish poet Robert Burns who was the author of many Scots poems and usually comes in the form of a supper party.

Who Was Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796)

Robert Burns (also known as Rabbie Burns and Scotland's favourite son) was a Scottish poet and lyricist and is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language although much of his writing is also in English and a "light" Scots dialect which is accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. His most famous poem was: Auld Lang Syne which was set to the tune of a traditional folk song at a later date.

The Supper

Suppers are normally held on or near Robert Burns birthday which is 25^th January and is sometimes known as Robert Burns Day or Burns Night (Burns Nicht) however these suppers can, in principle, be held at any time of the year.

Burns suppers are most common in Scotland and Northern Ireland although they also come about wherever there is a Burns Club / a Scottish Society / expatriate Scots or aficionados of Burns' poetry.

There is a very strong tradition of Burns suppers in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin – this could be due to the fact that Burns' nephew Thomas Burns was a founding father of Dunedin.

The first supper was held in Ayrshire at the end of the 18th century by Robert Burns' friends on the anniversary of his death ~ 21^st July ~ “In Memoriam”

Burns suppers can be either formal or informal.

Informal Suppers

Informal suppers typically include haggis (a traditional Scottish dish), Scotch whisky and the recitation of Burns' poetry.

Formal Dinners

Formal dinners are hosted by organisations such as Burns clubs, the Freemasons or St Andrews Societies and occasionally end with dancing when ladies are present. However whether they are single sex or not, the formal suppers follow a standard format which is as follows:

·         Start of the evening

·         Host's welcoming speech

·         The Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it;

But we hae meat, and we can eat,

And sae let the Lord be thankit

·         Entrance of the haggis – this involves everyone standing as the main course (the Haggis) is brought in on a large dish. A piper plays the bagpipes while leading the cook (usually) and Haggis to the host’s table at which point the host recites the: “Address to a Haggis”

·         There is a line in the Address His knife see rustic Labour dicht  where the speaker normally draws and cleans a knife and at the line An' cut you up wi' ready slicht, plunges the knife into the haggis and cuts it open from end to end. When done properly this "ceremony" is a highlight of the evening.

·         At the end of the poem a Scotch whiskey toast is proposed to the haggis and the guests sit down

·         The menu:

Main Course:

Haggis

Mashed potatoes (Tatties)

Mashed swede (Neeps)

Dessert Course:

Cranachan or Tipsy Laird (whiskey trifle)

Cheese Course:

Various cheeses and oatcakes

Coffee

All courses use traditional Scottish recipes and the meal is washed down with the: Water of Life – Scotch Whiskey

·         Speeches and toasts as follows:

Immortal memory

A guest gives a short speech about some aspect of Burns’ life or his poetry

Everyone drinks a toast to Robert Burns

Appreciation

The host says a few words / thanks the previous speaker / may comment on some points of the previous speakers speech

Toast to the Lassies (lassies – women)

The male speaker gives his views on women – this is usually amusing and not offensive which is a good thing as his speech is followed by a reply from the “lassies” concerned

The men drink a toast to the women’s health

Reply to the Toast to the Lassies

This is sometimes called the “toast to the Laddies”. A female guest gives her views on men and like the previous speech should be amusing and not offensive. The female guest will reply to any specific points raised by the male speaker. In many cases the two speakers giving these toasts will collaborate with each other so that the two toasts complement each other

Other Toasts and Speeches

Toasts to the locality or nation where the supper is being held is not unusual

Works by Burns

After the speeches songs by Burns may be sung and more poetry recited – this is done by either individual guests or invited experts. This will go on for as long as the guests wish and may also include other works by poets influenced by Burns – especially poets writing in Scots

Closing

Finally the host will ask one of the guests to give the vote of thanks and after this all the guests are asked to stand / join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne after which the evening comes to an end.

Enjoy your Burns Night - whatever you are doing :D 

Written by: Andria Owen

The Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival

The Straw Bear and its guide

The Whittlesey (Whittlesea) Straw Bear Festival is an old tradition from a small area of the Fens. This local event happens over one weekend every January in the small Fenland town of Whittlesey and includes the Straw Bear parade / dancing / music / poetry reading and storytelling.

Origins

No one really knows the exact date this custom started however it is believed that Straw Bear Tuesday originated in ceremonies recalling pagan fertility rites which was often associated with the beginning of spring ploughing.

The custom goes as follows: the day after Plough Monday (Plough Monday being the first Monday after Twelfth Night) – Plough Tuesday a plough boy would be dressed in straw and paraded through the streets of Whittlesey. A local newspaper from 1882 describes the following: “taken around the town to entertain, by his frantic and clumsy gestures the locals, who had on the previous day, given the plough Men a spread of beer, tobacco and beef”

The Straw Bear was made to dance in front of houses and gifts of money or beer and food for later consumption was expected. The festival was so highly regarded that farmers would often keep their best straw for the making of the bear.

This custom fell into decline at the end of the 19th century: with the last sighting being in 1909. It appears that an over-zealous police inspector banned 'Straw Bears' as he felt it was “a form of cadging which resulted in bad behaviour and prison sentences for some miscreants”.

What is Plough Monday?

Plough Monday was recognised as early as the 1400’s and at that time it was often connected with raising parish funds through the church.

As stated earlier Plough Monday is the first Monday after Twelfth Night and was an important ritual in the east of England for agricultural workers as it provided an opportunity for the agricultural workers to make some money at a very difficult time of year.

In medieval times ploughboys were supposed to return to work on Plough Monday as this was the start of the new ploughing season however rather than returning to work the plough was paraded through the streets – the aim of this was to extort money from the wealthy landowners.

Exploits of the farm workers varied and this was mainly dependent upon the area of the country the farm workers were from.

Molly Dancers / Morris Dancers

Molly dancing is associated with Plough Monday. Between Christmas and the beginning of the spring ploughing season the ploughboy would be, in the main, out of work and to earn an income the ploughboys would tour around to village landowners and offer to dance for money. Landowners who refused to pay would be penalised (punished) in various ways – one of which was to have a furrow ploughed across the offender’s garden.

As the dancers would want to gain employment with the same landowners shortly afterwards (during the spring ploughing season) the ploughboys would try to hide their identities. They did this by blacking their faces with soot and dressing up in an adapted version of their Sunday Best (these were typically clothes saved to wear on a Sunday / to go to church only). Their adapted clothes were usually black garments that were decorated with brightly coloured scarves. Originally this was an all-male tradition however one of the members would dress up as a woman – the Molly.

Gogmagog Molly

Pig Dyke Molly

Morris dancing is English folk dancing that is usually accompanied by music. Morris dancing is based on “rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers” The dancers also wield implements such as: swords / sticks and handkerchiefs during the dance. The dancer’s footwear is usually clogs and wear bells on their costume usually at the knee and therefore whenever the dancers move the bells ring. As with Molly dancers some Morris dancers blacken their faces. This again was an all-male tradition.

Red Leicester Morris

The Kings Morris

There are differing styles of Morris dancing and these are:

*Today, there are six predominant styles of Morris dancing, and different dances or traditions within each style named after their region of origin.

·         Cotswold Morris: dances from an area mostly in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire; an established misnomer, since the Cotswolds overlap this region only partially. Normally danced with handkerchiefs or sticks to accompany the hand movements.

·         North West Morris: more military in style and often processional.

·         Border Morris from the English-Welsh border: a simpler, looser, more vigorous style, normally danced with blackened faces (or sometimes otherwise coloured, given the negative connotations for some of blackface).

·         Long sword dancing from Yorkshire and south Durham.

·         Rapper or Short sword dancing from Northumberland and Co. Durham.

·         Molly Dancing from the English Midlands and East Anglia.

*Above information found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance

Revival

This old Straw Bear custom was revived in 1980 by the “Whittlesey Society” and for the first time in over seventy years a “Straw Bear” was seen on the streets of Whittlesey accompanied by his attendant keeper. Also in attendance were musicians and dancers - about 30 in total were involved in the first year of the revival. Public houses were visited around the town as fitting places for the “Bear” and dancers to perform in front of an audience with the added bonus of much needed refreshment available J

The Bear is constructed in a more practical way today with the straw being fixed to a suitable garment and the head supported on a metal frame on the shoulders. This allows for the costume to be removable which is very important as the costume weighs about five stones (approximately 32kgs / 70lbs). Also due to the length of the processional route and the time taken it is necessary to have two people “driving the bear”.

The parade now involves over 250 dancers / musicians and performers from different parts of Britain. They perform traditional Molly / Morris / Clog and Sword dances and there is also American style Appalachian dancing / street performances / Mummers plays / poetry reading and storytelling. A decorated plough pulled through the town by a local Morris side is now customary and an important part of the parade.

Festivities usually start on the Friday evening and continue through until Sunday. The “Straw Bear Parade” happens on the Saturday with the parade starting in front of the Ivy League Club (an establishment that sells alcohol) and ending outside the George Hotel for the closing ceremony. And finally the “Bear Burning” happens on the Sunday - the reasoning behind this is that it leaves the way open for a new bear to be created from the next season's harvest.

Friendships Formed

In 1999 the Straw Bear made friends with a German Straw Bear from Walldürn near Frankfurt - a town in Germany that celebrates its own Straw Bear Festival. Their Straw Bear Festival is held on the Monday before Shrove Tuesday.

Other Information

If you cannot attend the Straw Bear Festival in January you can visit Whittlesey Museum where you will find a life size model of the Straw Bear – for further information about Whittlesey Museum check out:

http://www.fensmuseums.org.uk/page_id__77_path__0p2p.aspx or 

http://www.culture24.org.uk/se000402

For more detailed information about Plough Monday – the website to check out is: http://www.ploughmonday.co.uk/

For general information about the town of Whittlesey – go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittlesey or http://www.whittleseyweb.co.uk/ 

And finally the dates for the 2013 Straw Bear Festival – 11^th-13^th January 2013

Written by: Andria Owen