Burns Night in Vilnius – Scottish gaiety and charity collections

On Saturday, Jan. 30, the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania held its 11th Annual Traditional Charity Event, Burns Night 2010, to celebrate the birthday of the Scottish national poet, Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) and to raise funds for the Lithuanian charity “Mamu Unija,” supporting the children suffering from cancer in Lithuania. The event was held in Vilnius City Hall (Vilniaus Rotuse) and hosted 180 guests from different countries including, of course, Scotland, England and Lithuania. The charity raffle raised 15,000 litas (4,344 euros).

Chris Butler, the chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce, was pleased that even in times of economic recession there are people willing to attend Burns Night, which is popular all over the world, and to kindly donate to the charity. “I am delighted that not only the Scottish gaiety, but also our national traditions are acceptable to Lithuanian guests, who attend Burns Night every year and willingly donate to the charity,” said Butler.

This year guests at Burns Night were entertained by “Saor Patrol” Celtic rock and folk group from Scotland. The musicians from Scotland flew in by “Star1 Airlines” and had the opportunity to present Scottish traditions to the passengers on board. “The Scottish music appearance on the flight pleasantly surprised our passengers,” said Jurate Rupsiene, Star1 Airlines’ communications manager.

Burns Night in Vilnius was celebrated in a traditional Scottish manner and had most of the essentials necessary for a successful event. The chef brought out the haggis (a traditional Scottish dish made from sheep’s heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, salt, and stock and boiled in the sheep’s stomach) and was accompanied by a bagpiper. The guest speaker, Mike Little, recited Burns’ “Address to a Haggis.” The original haggis from Scotland was served to the guests courtesy of “West of Scotland Colleges Partnership.”

After supper, the traditional “Toast to the Lassies” and “Reply from the Lassies” were delivered by Peter Cheney, from Tallinn, and by Penny Miller. Traditionally, the toasts have male and female speakers take turns to poke gentle fun at the foibles of the opposite sex, using the many examples in Burns’ verse.

Burns Night continued with traditional Scottish country dancing accompanied by the Benachally ceilidh band from Scotland, where energetic Scotsman and ceilidh caller Jake Donnelly managed to pull out even the most passive guests for a dance.