The Scottish Association of Luxembourg’s Burns Supper was held at the Hotel Parc Belle-Vue on Saturday.

Burns Suppers, which are held all around the world, honour one of Scotland’s most iconic poets, Robert Burns, who died at the age of 37 in 1796. Burns Suppers are held on or near the poet’s birthday, January 25, and feature traditional speeches and toasts, as well as Scottish entertainment and a haggis dinner.

Here in Luxembourg, the more formal portion of Saturday’s programme began with bagpiper Linda Weis, from The Luxembourg Pipe Band, piping in the ceremonial haggis, and then the toast to the haggis.

“I would say the highlight of the evening was, as always, the ‘toast to the lassies’, a humorous speech [this year given] by Andy Ferns, then the ‘response from the lassies’, another humorous speech, which was delivered by Yvonne Houston,” Michael Doyle, president of the Scottish Association of Luxembourg, told Delano. The oratories, delivered towards the end of the dinner, are really “what the night builds up to.”

Scottish moves

“At end of the evening, Stephanie Robertson from the Luxembourg Scottish Country Dance Club, taught people how to do Scottish dances, taught them the steps, and then got everyone on the dance floor.”

While many traditional Burns Suppers feature 20 minute or longer speeches in Old Scots, “we don’t have speeches lasting more than five minutes”, That is because “we try to make it event that’s open for everyone.”

Indeed, he reports a healthy contingent of Americans, Belgians, Canadians, English, Irish, Romanians and Polish joining expat Scots at the event.

“It’s not stuffy; it’s a bit more relaxed, fun evening,” Doyle explained, stressing that “you don’t have to be Scottish” to participate. In fact, at the end of the supper, a Polish woman signed-up to do next year’s ‘reply from the lassies’ and her husband, also Polish, promised to attend wearing a kilt.