Join fellow SCS members, family and friends at this year’s Tartan Day Parade. Contact alanmccall461@hotmail.com if you would like to join in the fun!
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Join us at the NYC Tartan Day Parade!
Author: Scots' Charitable Society
Scots Day at Fort Ticonderoga
Celebrate Scottish culture and military heritage at Fort Ticonderoga’s Scots Day on June 18th! Scots’ Charitable members are invited to join the St. Andrew’s Society of Albany at their tent! Sit in the shade, enjoy the view, and enjoy a traditional beverage. Get your tickets by clicking the link below and look for the St. Andrews Society’s tent! Call 518-235-7234 if you would like to meet up! If you are looking for a place to stay the night the St. Andrew’s Society recommends checking out the lovely BnBs Vermont has to offer.
The day includes a memorial service to the Scots of the Black Watch, who charged bravely at the Battle of Ticonderoga; many soldiers from Massachusetts also fought there.
Discover your own Scottish connection by visiting clan tents and vendors and enjoy the sounds of Scottish music performed throughout the day. Discover the stories of centuries of Scottish soldiers in the British Army through a military timeline.
Fort Ticonderoga preserves 2,000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched Revolutionary War era earthworks surviving in America. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about our nation’s earliest years and America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga, a historic destination with many attractions, welcomes more than 75,000 visitors each year and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October.
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Happy Burns Night from Scots’ Charitable!
It is with great delight that we share not one, but TWO, Address to the Haggis videos in celebration of Burns Night! Grab your haggis, scotch, and bagpipes and watch our members and special guests honor Robert Burns!
To learn more about Robert Burns, check out our 2021 blog post here.
Many thanks to SCS members and to special guest Peter Abbott, British Consul General, who appears in video #2. Special thanks to Dennis Napier who upped the ante by providing an introduction in honor of the Bard as well as stunning verse, and Jack MacLean for piping in the Haggis! You may recognize the scenery in one of the videos from Skyfall, the James Bond Movie, as one of our members filmed live in front of Duntrune Castle, and another video from the (virtual) interior of Burns’ Cottage in Alloway!
St. Andrew’s Day Toast
Members! Join us on November 20th at The Haven for a Saint Andrew’s Day toast!
RSVP by 11/10 to SCSEventsChair@scotscharitable
Scots’ Charitable Annual Golf Outing
Thank you to all who participated in the 2021 Annual Golf Outing! Click below to see photos.
To see photos from the 2019 Golf Outing, click here.
Saugus Iron Works Walkabout
Save the Date: Scots’ Charitable Annual Golf Outing
2021-08-29T11:21:00
days
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Tee off
The Scots’ Charitable Annual Golf Outing RETURNS on August 29th at Campbell’s Scottish Highlands Golf Course in Salem, New Hampshire. Tee off at 11:30 am.
More details coming soon!
To see photos from the 2019 Golf Outing, click here.
Tartan Week Virtual Scotch Tasting
Join us for a wee dram! All proceeds go to the Scots’ Charitable Scholarship fund. Click to learn more & view flyer. Special thanks to The Haven! If you are interested in attending please PM Karen Campbell Mahoney in Facebook or email scotscharitableboston@gmail.com
To The Bard Robert Burns
Every year on January 25th, Scots around the world participate in a magnificent feast called a “Burns Supper,” celebrating the life and poetry of the nation’s poet, Robert Burns, on his birthday. The bard was born on January 25, 1759, 262 years ago. This year, virtual celebrations can be found everywhere you look, making it easier than ever before to celebrate Burns at home (Burns Night In, if you will).
Robert Burns is a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world. He is also regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. Did you know there are more statues dedicated to Robert Burns than any other secular figure in the world?
Many would recognize the Burns poem “Auld Lang Syne,” which is sung across the globe to ring in the New Year. Other popular Burns poems include, “A Red, Red Rose,” “Tam O’Shanter,” and “A Mans a Man for A’ That.”
If you would like to celebrate the the life of Robert Burns and host your own Burns Supper, you can find a great how-to guide here and recipes here. While this year’s Burns Supper may look different due to the pandemic, you can still gather with friends virtually, eat a meal together, and take turns reciting your favorite Burns poems or songs. You can even learn a few traditional Scottish dances virtually thanks to our friends at the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Boston Branch, who are hosting an evening of dance with a Burns Night theme on Monday, January 25, 2021 from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST. Send an inquiry note to: cambridgeclass@rscdsboston.org.
In a typical year, a Burns Supper usually takes the following format:
- To begin, the guests are piped into the venue, followed by the “Selkirk Grace.”
- Next, the haggis is piped in and the host performs “Address to a Haggis.” As the poem wraps, everyone toasts to the haggis and the main meal is served, followed by dessert. If you don’t have access to haggis, you can serve lamb, steak pie, or a vegetarian alternative.
- After the meal, the host typically recites a well known Burns poem, followed by the “Immortal Memory,” the main tribute speech to Burns. Next up is a tongue in cheek speech written in advance called the “Toast to the Lassies,” followed by a similarly jokey retort, “Reply to the Toast to the Lassies.” After the meal and toasts is a Ceilidh, a series of Scottish dances.
- To close the Burns Supper, give thanks to all who attended and participated, and together sing “Auld Lang Syne.”
Cheers to Robert Burns! Please let us know how you plan to celebrate in the comments!
Happy Hogmanay!
As we think back on 2020, we wanted to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for each of our members and friends of the Society. None of us could have imagined what 2020 had in store for us all. While many of our projects had to be put on hold, we remained true to our mission of Scots helping Scots and used the extraordinary circumstances we were presented with as an opportunity to reset our compass. By refocusing our organizational goals, we were able to accomplish quite a bit, despite the many challenges we all faced. Looking back, we have much to be proud of.
Highlights of our year include:
- We made a sizable donation made to Masks for Scotland, assisting their efforts to provide PPE to front-line health care workers.
- We contributed to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s appeal for donations for PPE for the Commonwealth’s front-line workers.
- Our annual scholarship program went entirely virtual and provided $77,000 to 39 college students of Scottish descent who reside in the New England area.
- We assisted in the Save Our Scotland appeal by the National Trust of Scotland and, in the process, arranged an affinity program with the National Trust to offer 15% discounts to National Trust membership for members of the Scots’ Charitable Society.
All of these contributions were in addition to our regular relief activity for Scots in the area in need.
In addition, we moved all of our meetings to virtual platforms, unveiled a new logo, and even managed to celebrate St. Andrew via an interview with a well-known Scottish storyteller, David Campbell, which was then shared with our members.
Reflecting on the year also lends itself to reflecting on traditions and some ways in which we can adapt them for our current situation. Hogmanay, the Scots word for the last day of the year, is typically a time to welcome friends and strangers with warm hospitality into your home. While social distancing prevents us from celebrating in typical fashion this year, many are still gathering virtually.
Since ancient times, households across Scotland have welcomed strangers through their doors with the aim of bringing good fortune for the year ahead. This tradition, called “first footing,” stems from the Gaelic practice of “qualtagh.” Traditionally, the first footer should be someone who was not already in the house when midnight struck – hence a Scottish party tradition of having one guest leave just before the bells so they can knock on the door as the new year begins. They usually come bearing gifts; per tradition, they would arrive loaded with a coin, bread, salt, a lump of coal, and whisky – gifts representing all the things the new year would hopefully bring, such as prosperity, food, warmth and good cheer.
Carrying out this tradition while still being socially distant is possible! Perhaps have a surprise guest drop in on your virtual gathering at midnight. Your virtual first footer could even take advantage of liquor delivery services and have a wee dram delivered to the organizers.
Looking ahead, we are excited to continue our efforts as Scots helping Scots and send our best wishes to you and your families. Happy Hogmanay!
Scots' Charitable Society 