The sound of bagpipes drew students out of their classroom and got the attention of mall-goers Friday (Jan. 25).
Thanks for stopping by #SFUSurrey’s Robbie Burns celebration today in the Mezz! #Surrey #surreybc #RobbieBurns pic.twitter.com/WBSBZTlECk
— SFU's Surrey Campus (@sfusurrey) January 25, 2019
SFU Surrey celebrated Robbie Burns Day, the bard’s birthday, with a procession of the haggis through the campus, followed by a brief background on Burns and the Address to a Haggis performed by Jim Gallacher.
Burns, Gallacher said, became associated with haggis because at some point in Burns’ life, he was visiting with a friend and the friend’s wife was preparing haggis for the midday meal.
“And when he sat down to have the haggis, he absolutely delighted them… It was an ode, or a poem, about the haggis and it was in Burns typical vernacular which is quite humorous and it pretty much describes the place that haggis has and had in the life of the Scots back then, and I think it still does today,” Gallacher said.
Jan. 25, 2019 would have been Burns’ 260th birthday, Gallacher said.
“How many of us will be getting talked about in 260 years time, and the fact is why are we talking about Burns? We don’t talk about Shelley or Keats, we don’t have Dickens’ Day, and yet for some reason, Burns has lasted through the years,” said Gallacher, wondering why Burns has had such a lasting legacy.
“My belief, honestly, is that he was a man of the people and because his poetry — if you can take the time and trouble to read it it, it’s quite enjoyable.”
Gallacher also recited a Burns’ poem, and then called spectators up to each recite a verse of another Burns’ poem.
Afterward, students and staff could sample the haggis.
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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