Burns Night Collection

The company is piped in, the Selkirk Grace is said, the haggis is carried in and addressed with Burns's poem, then the meal. Afterwards come the Immortal Memory, the Toast to the Lassies and the Reply, plus songs and recitations.

Sometimes, and the invitation usually says. A club or society supper often is, meaning a Prince Charlie and a bow tie. A supper in someone's house is not. Turning up in full evening Highland dress to a casual supper is the more noticeable mistake.

Dark trousers with a jacket and tie is perfectly acceptable and nobody will comment. A tartan tie or a sash adds the nod without the outfit. If you attend suppers regularly, a kilt covers Hogmanay and St Andrew's Day too.

Any. There is no tartan reserved for the occasion and no expectation that it relate to Burns. Your own family sett, a district tartan or a universal one all work. If attending as a group, one sett across the party photographs better than four.

A short verse said before the meal, attributed to Burns and traditionally spoken by the host. It comes after the piping in and before the haggis is carried to the table, and it takes about fifteen seconds.

Only if you are performing it, which is one specific role at the supper. Guests are expected to raise a glass and to make some noise at the appropriate moment, and nothing more than that.