Addressing Burns Night and where to celebrate it in the UAE

Get the haggis out, it's Burns Night and the UAE's Scots and want-to-be Scottish are getting ready to celebrate.

Expect haggis to be served at any Burns Night supper. Courtesy Reform Social & Grill

It’s time for the treasured Scottish celebration known as Burns Night, which honours the life and poetry of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. Born on January 25, 1759, Burns is best known for his poem Auld Lang Syne, which is typically crooned at New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world.

In Scotland, Burns is an icon, but ye need not be Scottish to celebrate this (unofficial) national Scottish holiday.

Many Burns Suppers are formal affairs that include bagpipers, recitations of Burns’s poetry and an official cutting of the haggis – a meal often referred to as the national dish of Scotland. The famous Burns poem Address to a Haggis is the inspiration for the meal and is recited at most Burns Suppers.

Margie Gibson, a Scottish expatriate living in Abu Dhabi, says Burns Night is a huge celebration back home.

“We always celebrate this in Scotland, either formally or informally. My favourite memories are of dressing up and listening to the Address to a Haggis, which is very dramatic if done well.”

The Scottish chef Lorraine Sinclair, who lives in Dubai, says haggis is the highlight of every Burns Supper. “There is a lot of ceremony that goes into serving this treasured culinary dish. The Selkirk Grace is read prior to the serving of the meal.”

Sinclair won’t attend a public event this year, but she’ll still celebrate Burns Night at home.

“This year, I plan to purchase a haggis – there are frozen ones at Choithrams – steam it and serve it with turnips and potatoes. I may invite friends or just indulge in this on my own.”

So what exactly is haggis? Some things are better left unsaid, but lest ye be left wondering, here it is: it is a minced mix of sheep’s heart, liver and lungs combined with onion, mutton fat, oatmeal and a variety of spices – all encased in the sheep’s stomach. It’s cooked (thankfully) and typically served with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes). If you haven’t yet tried it, forget what you’ve just read and head to one of these spots in the UAE to try some haggis (many people do actually like it) and celebrate this beloved Scottish tradition.

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