Some of the best house parties have Scottish themes, yet are surprisingly easy to organise. All that's really needed is plenty of good single malt whisky, traditional Scottish party food, for example haggis and cloutie dumpling, Scots folk and bagpipe music, some extracts from the best of the poems of Robert Burns (optional), knowledge of Scots reels and dances for a fun ceilidh and some tartan for a Scottish dress code.
From traditional Burns' Night celebrations in January through to the four day Hogmanay festival for the Scottish New Year, a Scots themed party can be great fun to hold at any time of the year. Four customary Scots parties, however, are Burns' Night, Halloween, St Andrew's Day and Hogmanay. Some details of these celebrations are detailed below, together with a link to the BBC website for a detailed description of hosting traditional Burns' Night celebrations.
Four of the Best Party Themes from Scotland
Its certain that the Scots know how to throw great parties, from the four-day Hogmanay New Year festival, ideally celebrated in Edinburgh, if possible, to traditional Burns' Night suppers at the end of January. The Scottish love for its pagan Celtic past often leads to dramatic Halloween parties and celebrations for the national day, St Andrews Day, are also common in November.
Perhaps one of the most interesting features of the Scottish themed party is the traditional music, from the national bagpipes to haunting or foot tapping folk songs and jigs. Music from the Battlefield Band is sure to be a winner at any party, this group have been around for a number of years and have taken Scottish folk to a new level with their mixture of electronic fiddle and bagpipes. From ancient folk melodies to lively jigs, their music will prove a hit at any Scottish themed celebration.
With all four of the illustrated celebrations falling in the winter season, it's clear that the Scots know how to turn their drab and cold winters into successful party seasons. Some ideas and traditions for Scottish themed parties for Hogmanay or New Year, Burns Night, Halloween and St Andrew's Day follow.
Celebrating the Birth of the Scottish National Poet with a Burns' Night Supper Party
Parties commemorating the birth date of the Scottish national poet Robert Burns are generally held on 25 January. Some of the principal traditions for the evening are as follows:
- Formal or informal dress code, but definitely some item of clothing to be tartan
- Bagpipe music to pipe in the guests
- Requirement to recite some of Burns' poetry
- Typical supper menu would be Cock-a-leekie soup, Haggis, neeps and tatties, and Cloutie dumpling
- Bagpipe music to pipe in the haggis
There is a standard format to the ordering of events for a formal Burns' Night Supper and traditional Haggis, Burns favorite dish, is a prerequisite. Recital of Burns famous "Address to a Haggis" poem, followed by the standard Toast to the Haggis are traditional for this event. The meal should conclude with entertainments featuring some of Burns more famous songs and poems and the highlight of the evening is the keynote Immortal Memory speech, followed by the humorous Address to the Ladies. A spirited rendition of Auld Lang Syne is, of course, the final tradition of the Scots Burns Night event.
Halloween Parties in Scotland
Traditional Celtic beliefs in Scotland denote Halloween or Samhuinn (also known as Samhain) as another major feast day and reason to celebrate.
Bonfires, fireworks, guising and traditional Scots foods, together with simple magic spells, are all part of the Halloween party tradition for the Scottish people.
One customary food for Halloween would be a moist lemon or orange sponge cake, oozing with fruit juice and decorated in black (dark chocolate) and orange with Halloween motifs. The Halloween charms would be baked inside the cake.
St Andrew's Day
As the patron saint of Scotland, St Andrew's Day is the national day celebrated on 30 November. Typically, however, Burns Night is now the more popular celebration in Scotland.
On the whole, St Andrew's Day would be celebrated with family meals and get-togethers. Customary foods such as haggis and special desserts like cloutie dumpling are often served at St Andrew's Day celebrations.
Hogmanay Party from Scotland
The main thing to remember is that in Scotland Hogmanay is a four-day bash, starting on 29 December and running through to 1 January. Ideally, therefore, parties with Scottish Hogmanay themes should be split between a group of friends to share the party hosting workload.
A Celtic Hogmanay involves a lot of hard work as it begins with a thorough clean of the house from top to bottom on 31 December in order to welcome in the New Year and, hopefully, the many first footing guests.
Some customs for Hogmanay are as follows:
- First Footing guests with gifts of coal and cake, hopefully bearing whisky too!
- Hogmanay is linked to pagan Winter solstice celebrations, so bonfires are totally appropriate
- Fireworks are a great addition to Hogmanay parties
- Street parties and open air concerts
- Traditional music for dancing reels and holding an impromptu ceilidh
- Bagpipes
- Scots foods such as haggis and cloutie dumpling
For more ideas on organising a successful Hogmanay party, read the history of Hogmanay.
Host a Scottish Theme Party
As illustrated above, it is certainly clear that the Scots do know how to spread good cheer throughout their wet and cold winter season. Holding Scottish themed parties and celebrations is one inexpensive way for outgoing party people to enjoy a taste of Scotland, whatever time of year.
One further great winter theme party idea to banish the blues is to host a Mardi Gras Party themed around the New Orleans Carnival season which begins on 6 January and runs up to the first day of Lent.
Dawn Denmar - Studying for a BA in Journalism and History, Dawn's innate curiosity about life has led to articles covering a range of topics and ...
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