Burns Night returns after hiatus

By Lethbridge Herald on January 27, 2026.

Herald photo by joe manio Lethbridge Legion member and Burns Night supper emcee Bille Hallee performs the traditional ÒAddress to a HaggisÓ on Sunday evening.

By Joe Manio

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter- Lethbridge Herald

After a nine-year hiatus, the skirl of bagpipes, the weight of tradition and the long-awaited return of haggis filled the Lethbridge Royal Canadian Legion General Stewart Branch #4 Sunday evening as Burns Night finally returned after a nearly 10-year absence.  

The Lethbridge Legion’s 48th Burns Night — the formal Scottish supper marked by poetry, ritual and good humour — returned to the Legion for the first time since 2016 reviving a tradition familiar to many in Lethbridge and the surrounding region.

The timing was fitting. The Royal Canadian Legion is marking its 100th anniversary in 2026 and the Lethbridge branch is celebrating its own centennial this year, making the return of Burns Night feel less like a novelty and more like a reconnection with the past.

“It’s no accident that we are Branch Number Four,” says Legion President Dave Martin. “We were one of the first ones in the Royal Canadian Legion. This is the first event of our centennial year.”

The emcee for the evening, Legion Member Bill Hallee, said the long absence of Burns Night at the Legion was not the result of any single decision but a series of events that gradually loosened its place in the calendar. 

Renovations to the building disrupted regular programming, while the loss of original organizers through death and attrition left fewer people carrying the tradition forward. The COVID-19 pandemic later stalled gatherings altogether.

“Somewhere along the way, it just got disconnected,” he said.

Burns Night is traditionally held around Jan. 25, the birthday of Robert Burns, the 18th-century Scottish poet whose work celebrated ordinary people, social equality, love and national identity. 

While Burns’ name may not be instantly familiar to everyone outside Scotland, his words almost certainly are.

For example, Burns wrote the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, the song sung around the world at New Year’s Eve gatherings — often hand in hand, counting down to midnight. For many, it is their most enduring connection to Burns’ work even if they have never known its author.

Hallee and Martin said that accessibility is part of what has allowed Burns’ work to endure for generations.

A proper Burns Night supper follows a familiar script, balancing ceremony with warmth. The evening begins with the piping in of the haggis, the symbolic heart of the meal, as guests rise in respect. 

What follows is the recitation of Burns’ “Address to a Haggis,” delivered with mock solemnity and theatrical flair before the ceremonial slicing of the dish.

Despite its fearsome reputation, haggis itself is less mysterious than legend suggests. The traditional Scottish dish, made from seasoned meat and oats, is valued as much for its symbolism as its flavour. Hallee said first-time guests are often pleasantly surprised.

Beyond the meal, the evening includes readings of Burns’ poetry and a series of formal toasts, including the Immortal Memory which reflects on Burns’ life and legacy. The structure is formal, but the tone is deliberately welcoming.

“It’s meant to be serious and fun at the same time,” Hallee said.

The revival of Burns Night also comes at a moment of reflection for Legions across Canada. As many branches work to pass traditions to younger generations, organizers say cultural events rooted in storytelling and shared experience can help bridge that gap.

For the Lethbridge Legion marking a century of service while reviving a night built on poetry, ritual and community felt especially meaningful. As the evening drew to a close, guests stood, joined hands across the hall and sang Auld Lang Syne, accompanied by the bagpipes that had opened the night. 

The familiar melody — written by a poet some may not have recognized by name, but whose words nearly everyone knew by heart — filled the room. After nine quiet years, Burns Night once again ended the way it began: together.