10 Key Insights About Robert Burns and the Celebration of Burns Night

Robert Burns, often referred to as Rabbie Burns, is deeply associated with Scotland. He is not only celebrated as the nation’s national poet but also triumphed over the legendary warrior William Wallace in a 2009 STV poll, earning the title of the greatest Scot.

Born on January 25, 1759, in Alloway, Ayrshire, Burns penned poetry reflecting his experiences as a peasant farmer, his romantic pursuits, and various other themes. Despite being labeled “the heaven-taught ploughman,” Burns was neither uneducated nor primarily a ploughman. Discover more about his brief yet impactful life and timeless literary works.

1. At the young age of 15, Robert Burns composed his very first poem.

As typical for a teenager, Burns’s first poetic effort revolved around a romantic infatuation. Titled “Handsome Nell,” this piece, which Burns referred to as his initial “sin of rhyme” in a 1787 letter to Dr. John Moore, was written in 1774 while living at Mount Oliphant farm, where his family worked as tenant farmers. Though he later dismissed the work as “childish and foolish,” it still held sentimental value, reminding him of a time when his heart was pure and his words genuine.

Burns attributed his early passion for poetry to another woman, particularly “an old Maid of my Mother’s [Betty Davidson],” who shared tales and songs filled with “devils, ghosts, fairies, brownies, witches, warlocks, spunkies, kelpies, elf-candles, dead-lights, wraiths, apparitions, cantraips, giants, inchanted towers, dragons, and other fantastical nonsense.” These stories, he claimed, “nurtured the budding seeds of Poetry within me.”

2. Burns was a dedicated Freemason.

In 1781, at 22, Burns became a member of the Masonic Lodge St. David in Tarbolton. He remained a Freemason throughout his life, and in 1787, Francis Charteris, Scotland’s Grand Master, hailed Brother Burns as “Caledonia’s bard.” (Caledonia, the Latin name for Scotland used by the Romans, later became a poetic term for the nation.)

3. Burns nearly relocated to Jamaica to work on a sugar plantation, but the acclaim for his poetry changed his plans.

Facing financial difficulties as a farmer, Burns planned to move to Jamaica in 1786 to work as a bookkeeper on a sugar plantation reliant on enslaved labor. To fund his trip, he published Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (commonly referred to as the Kilmarnock Edition). However, the collection’s immediate success convinced him to abandon his emigration plans.

Burns was fully conscious that working in Jamaica would have entangled him in the brutal system of slavery. This decision starkly contrasts with the egalitarian ideals he championed in his poetry, particularly in “A Man’s a Man for A’ That.” For his admirers, this contradiction is unsettling. “I’d like to believe that if he had gone, he would have returned immediately upon realizing the horrors involved,” Jackie Kay, who served as Scots Makar from 2016 to 2021, remarked to the BBC. “I can’t reconcile the Burns I admire with someone who could have willingly become an overseer.”

4. Burns authored over 700 poems and songs during his lifetime.

According to the BBC, Burns produced a total of 716 works. His most famous piece, “Auld Lang Syne,” has become a global New Year’s Eve tradition. While Burns stated that he simply “recorded it from an old man,” scholars believe he infused the lyrics with his own artistic touch.

Most of Burns’s works were written in a blend of Scots and English. Among his other renowned poems are “Tam o’ Shanter,” “A Red, Red Rose,” “Scots Wha Hae,” “To a Mouse” (which inspired John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men), and “Ae Fond Kiss.”

5. Burns worked as a tax collector, known as an exciseman.

In his later years, Burns’s writing income dwindled, prompting him to accept a position as an exciseman. His support for the French Revolution and the American Revolutionary War threatened his job, so he enlisted in the Royal Dumfries Volunteers, a militia formed to defend against potential invasions, to demonstrate his loyalty to the nation.

6. Burns was the father of 12 children, born to four different women.

Burns was known for his romantic escapades, many of which led to children. He fathered two illegitimate daughters, both named Elizabeth—one with Elizabeth Paton in 1785 and another with Ann Park in 1791—as well as an illegitimate son, Robert, born in 1788 to Jenny Clow.

Burns and his wife, Jean Armour, whom he married in 1788, had nine children together, though only three survived infancy. His youngest child, Maxwell, was born on July 25, 1796, the same day as Burns’s funeral. Sadly, Maxwell passed away at just three years old.

Interestingly, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is descended from Burns—his aunt is the great-granddaughter of Burns’s younger brother, Gilbert.

7. Burns passed away on July 21, 1796.

Burns was only 37 when he passed away. While some attributed his death to alcoholism, experts suggest his symptoms point to heart failure caused by rheumatism. Initially buried in a simple grave at St. Michael’s Churchyard in Dumfries, his admirers—including Sir Walter Scott—later funded the construction of an elaborate mausoleum in his honor, completed in 1817.

8. Burns Night is observed on January 25, the poet’s birthday, with a traditional Burns supper.

The inaugural Burns Night supper took place on the fifth anniversary of Burns’s death, hosted by nine of his close friends. They met at his birthplace in Alloway to enjoy haggis, recite his poetry, and honor his memory with a toast that later became known as the Immortal Memory. The event was later shifted to his birthday and gained widespread popularity, with Burns Night now celebrated globally.

The evening begins with the recitation of the Selkirk Grace, described by The Scotsman as “a brief prayer, originally spoken in the Lallans dialect of lowland Scotland, expressing gratitude to God for the meal.” The haggis is then presented to the sound of bagpipes, followed by Burns’s “Address to a Haggis.” After enjoying haggis, neeps (mashed turnip), and tatties (mashed potato), attendees deliver the Immortal Memory and read his works, concluding with a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.”

9. A unique celebration merges Burns Night with the Chinese New Year.

When Chinese New Year coincides with Burns Night, Vancouver-born Todd Wong created a combined celebration in 1998 called “Gung Haggis Fat Choy.” The name blends the Cantonese New Year greeting—Gung hay fat choy, meaning “wishing you great happiness and prosperity”—with haggis, the traditional Scottish dish served on Burns Night.

What began as a small gathering of 16 friends has grown into an annual event attended by hundreds. Participants enjoy a fusion of Scottish and Chinese cuisine, such as haggis and shrimp wontons. “Gung Haggis is more than a dinner; it’s a celebration of multi-ethnic heritage, welcoming everyone to honor Canada’s diverse history and culture,” Wong explained to Rice Paper magazine in 2021.

10. Numerous landmarks and places bear the name of Robert Burns.

These tributes include streets and towns on Earth, as well as a crater on Mercury. Additionally, a train named after Robert Burns can be viewed at the Crewe Heritage Center in the UK.