Highlanders outlook on Burns night.

[Guinness>water]

Hello all,
I am curious as to how highlanders feel about Burns night. Is it celebrated in the Highlands?

Is it popular today? What about in the past?

Thanks,

[Phil]

It would be presumptuous of me to speak on behalf of "Highlanders", not being one myself but Burns' poetry is mostly written in Scots as opposed to Gaelic and so may be less understood in the "Highlands". I have used inverted commas as there is a somewhat misunderstood dichotomy between highlands and lowlands which largely ceased to exist when the power of the chiefs was tamed and the clans were weaned away from their warlike ways. Many highlanders were forced off their land and moved to the lowlands or emigrated to the colonies and so, a greater integration resulted. Whether this resulted in a liking for Burns and his poetry I cannot answer but when you know that Burns is enjoyed from Nigeria to Russia I think that many "Highlanders" must also have come to appreciate his works.