 | Edinburgh Festival, Tattoo, Hogmanay, Etc. Reviews | 1 - 10 of 16 |  |
Each year on January 25, the great man's presumed birthday, Scots everywhere take time out to honour a national icon. Whether it's a full-blown Burns Supper or a quiet night of reading poetry, Burns Night is a night for all Scots.
Burns Night Supper
The Burns Supper is an institution of Scottish life, a night to celebrate the life and genius of the national Bard. Suppers can be everything from an informal gathering of friends to a huge, formal dinner full of pomp and circumstance. This running order covers all the key elements you need to plan and structure a Burns Supper that suits your intentions. For more info:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/burnsnight/suppers/index.shtml
Who was Robert Burns then?
Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759 in the village of Alloway near Ayr. He came from a relatively poor, tenant-farmer background, although he received a good education and read avidly as a youngster. It is during his years as a teenager and young man working on farms that he developed some of the passions that would colour the rest of his life - poetry, nature, women and drink.
Fame, but not necessarily fortune, followed in the wake of Burns’s first publication: "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" (Kilmarnock Edition). The collection contains many of his best loved poems, including "The Cotter’s Saturday Night", "To a Mouse" and "To a Louse".
Burns’s poetry at this time chopped and changed between English and Scots and this perhaps reflected his own ambivalent feelings towards the Edinburgh bourgeoisie. It was on his return to farming near Dumfries in 1788 that he penned his masterpiece in the Scots vernacular, "Tam O’Shanter" (1790).
In 1795 he sent his publisher "For a’ that and a’ that", a song which vocalised his support for the political radicalism which was beginning to infiltrate British society, especially through Thomas Paine’s controversial work, "The Rights of Man".
The Bard should always be seen in his national context: as the champion of the underdog in an underdog country.
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There is a cavalcade before the Festival opens [see tip] and in the days that followed flyers were continually being thrust into your hands; rehearsals for some of the shows took place in the open, individuals played musical instruments [pan pipes from S America, Japanese stringed instruments, Norwegian band] , juggled with balls and did somersaults, danced and all for free. In the Botanical Gardens we came across a performance of a Shakespeare play. In addition there are stalls selling all kinds of things, ethnic jewellery, doing henna tattoos or drawing portraits. There is enough to keep anyone busy. Leave a Comment
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Before the festival begins, there is a Cavalcade of floats advertising the participants. It was not advertised because of security,but we heard from a friend and made our way to Prince's Street down which the parade would drive. There were already people waiting at noon, though the parade was due to start at 2.30pm. We grabbed good positions near the art gallery and waited, and waited. Eventually a dignatory appeared, and later the Lady Provost. Then the parade proper- floats , marching bands, acrobats etc. Cheap sparkly necklaces were thrown into the crowd or handed out to those who caught the performers' eyes.
It was all very cheerful and colourful and enabled one to get flyers, and see what events might be worth seeing. Leave a Comment
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Every year in Prince's Street Gardens there is a flower clock. This is a flower bed planted with summer flowers representing a clock. It is colourful and a tradition so that it is in bloom at the time of the Edinburgh Festival in August. Leave a Comment
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EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
Excerpt from www.eif.co.uk:
Each year during the summer months Edinburgh becomes the world's Festival City. It is the huge range and number of artistic events, performances and exhibitions happening throughout the city which makes Edinburgh unforgettable. It makes you feel that there is always something else happening around the corner which you are missing. There is; and you are. This is inevitable, part of the joy of the Festival.
The Edinburgh International Festival was founded in 1947. It is now recognised as one of the most important celebrations of the arts in the world.
The founders of the Festival believed that the Festival programmes should be of the highest possible artistic standard presented by the best artists in the world, that the Festival should enliven and enrich the cultural life of Europe, Britain and Scotland and that it should provide a period of flowering of the human spirit. Leave a Comment
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This isn't just one festival but a huge spread of diverse productions with 11 different festivals planned for 2006. These are all brought together on the link below where there is also a simple and easy to use online booking service.
Note however if you do not have PC access in August, you can use the ones in the temporary booking office located on top of the Princes Shopping Centre.
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Hogmanay is New Year's Eve. Until a few decades ago Christmas was a low key festival , if kept at all. The main festival was Hogmanay, which lasted several days in areas where drink was accepted.
First footing was done as soon as the New Year was rung in, A dark haired person with coal, bread and salt was welcome as the bearer of good luck. After the first foot entered the house anyone was welcome and given a dram [of whisky] and a piece of black bun.
In Edinburgh a street party takes place to welcome in the New Year. People hug and kiss each other and join arms to sing Auld Lang Syne. Leave a Comment
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Fun Fair Big Wheel Open Air Ice Skating German Christmas Market Wine Hot Chestnuts Food Christmas Gift ideas.
Stand in Princes Street at Midnight for the fireworks.
Stages are set up with bands playing live music. Leave a Comment
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In the last two weeks of August and the beginning of September, the Edinburgh Festival takes place in a large variety of city venues catering for all interests from comedy to serious theatre, street entertainers to full orchestras.
This is the busiest time of year attracting thousands of international visitors. Leave a Comment
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If you can go in august, do it. It's the time when, inside the castle, you can attend the famous military tattoo. And it's not only a show of military bands... it's a lot more. Just go and seeit for yourself. You will not regret it. Leave a Comment
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- Fairholme Guest House
3 Rothesay Terrace, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Royal Garden Apartments
Queen Street York Buildings, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - The Grassmarket Hotel
94-96 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - HOTEL MOUNT ROYAL RAMADA JARVIS
Princes Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Harbour Hotel
3 Western Harbour Development Newhaven Place; Leith, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Hilton Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh International Airport, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Boreland Lodge
31-33 Boreland Road Inverkeithing, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Jarvis Ellersly Country House Hotel
Ellersly Road (formerly Ramada Jarvis), Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Southside Guest House
8 Newington Road, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Novotel Edinburgh Centre
80 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - AGENDA HOTEL
92 - 98 St Johns Rd. Corstorphine, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Johnstounburn House Hotel (Humbie East Lothian EH365PL Edinburgh Lothian)
Humbie, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Apex International Hotel
31-35 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Hilton Edinburgh Airport (Ingliston Edi Internat Airport Edinburgh EH28 8LL)
Edinburgh International Airport, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Acorn Lodge
26 Pilrig St, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Destinations near Edinburgh- Edinburgh Castle, 0.00 km / 0.00 miles
- Leith, 2.08 km / 1.29 miles
- Granton, 2.11 km / 1.31 miles
- Portobello, 5.19 km / 3.22 miles
- Cramond Bridge, 6.22 km / 3.87 miles
- Cramond Island, 6.37 km / 3.96 miles
- Musselburgh, 9.52 km / 5.92 miles
- Dalkeith, 12.45 km / 7.74 miles
- South Queensferry, 12.98 km / 8.07 miles
- Saint Davids, 13.14 km / 8.16 miles
» See all locations nearby» Popular Lothian locations» Popular Scotland locations» Popular United Kingdom locations
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