Birthday of Robert Burns
January 25
Poet of Scotland
How would you like to eat a pudding that has been cooked in a sheep’s
stomach? You’ll certainly have a chance if you ever go to a party to
celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland.
Every January 25, many people in Scotland and elsewhere celebrate this
event in a very fitting way. Among Burns’s poems is one called \”To a
Haggis,” in which he describes this dish as that \”Great chieftain o’
the puddin’-race!” So, of course, haggis must be served at the party.
Haggis tastes somewhat like hash. It is made from the heart, liver, and
lungs of a sheep. These are chopped up and mixed with oatmeal, onions,
and seasonings. Then everything is boiled in a bag made from the stomach
of a sheep.
When the haggis is served, a man marches into the dining room playing a
bagpipe. Behind him comes another man, proudly carrying the haggis on a
tray. The arrival of the famous pudding is greeted with a cheer.
