This Saturday is Burns Night. It's time to learn more about the famous poet Robert Burns, his work, Scots language and Burns Suppers!

Burns Night is an annual event, observed on 25 January. It celebrates the life and contributions of Robbie Burns, Scotland’s National Bard.

Some celebrate Burns Night with a Burns Supper. Burns Suppers see guests enjoy a meal of haggis, neeps (swede), and tatties (potatoes). Some may also choose to partake in a dram of whisky! Suppers usually feature recitals of Burns’ works, as well as traditional music.

Burns Night is celebrated throughout Scotland and by communities around the world, as shown in this interactive map1 from the University of Glasgow. This year, event planners in Dumfries are even putting on an underwater Burns Supper2!

Learning more about Burns with eResources

Strathclyde staff and students can use their university credentials to access online resources. Use SUPrimo Library Search to find information such as:

Burns wrote some of his works in Scots, which you can explore through the Scots Language Centre.

Our Box of Broadcasts playlist of TV programmes and a Burns Night reading list are available for you to use for study or pleasure. If you find out something new, be sure to let us know in the comments.

Reading list

Log in with your university email address and password to explore our Burns Night eresources reading list.

References list for this blog post

  1. Malgrati P. Interactive Map of Burns Suppers. [internet]. 2020 [cited 2025 Jan 22] Available from: https://www.burnsc21.glasgow.ac.uk/supper-map/
  2. Liptrott S. World's first underwater Burns Supper will be a hit: Big Burns Supper festival. Dumfries and Galloway Standard. Friday edition. [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Jan 22]10:10. Available from: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/worlds-first-underwater-burns-supper-will-be-hit/docview/3153279718/se-2?accountid=14116
  3. Burns R. Alloway kirk; or Tam O'Shanter: A tale. By Robert Burns, the ayrshire poet' [internet]. s.n: Glasgow? 1797 [cited 2025 Jan 22] Available from: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CB0126492029/ECCO?u=ustrath&sid=bookmark-ECCO&xid=9ae035da&pg=1
  4. Kantar. Leading brands of 'Malt Whisky in Great Britain (GB) 2020 - 2022, by number of consumers (in 1,000s). Statista. Statista Inc. [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2025 Jan 22] Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/304236/leading-brands-of-wine-including-sparkling-gb-in-the-uk/
  5. Scotch Whisky Association. Leading markets for the export of Scottish whisky in Europe in 2023, ranked by volume* (in million 70 centiliter bottles). Statista. Statista Inc [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Jan 22] Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/422764/scotch-whisky-export-markets-europe-by-volume/
  6. Trudeau L J. editor. ‘Robert Burns' in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. vol. 190, [Internet] Detroit, MI: Gale. 2011[cited 2025 Jan 22] Available from: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/ULIQGU008995876/GLS?u=ustrath&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=71228244