Burns Greeting 2023

Burns an’ Hygge
A winter o’ discontent for aw’
As honest workers strike a blaw
Guid thochts can aften melt awa
Amid viral spike
Oor nation’s herts left tae thaw
Snaw aff a dyke

Too mony in this nation’s care
In hoddin’ grey wae cupboards bare
Tak’ shame in haein’ food bank fare
Guid times ur fleetin’
Stark choices for their ain welfare
Heatin’ or eatin’?

We aw still need oor daily bread
But it must nourish hert an’ head
If pleasures ur like poppies spread
Then let’s aw tak heed
Tae ensure oor minds ur in good stead
Let’s plant mair seed

An’ so I say tae you an’ me
Fur happiness tae bear the gree
An’ tae live oor lives wae esprit
It’s nae gowd nor gear
Best things in life ur aften free
Tae bring joy an’ cheer.

It’s comfort that oor Bardie saw
However fortune kick the ba’
The honest hert that’s free frae a’
Foolish fraud or guile
Will brightly beam aboon them a’
An’ gie us cause tae smile.

So let’s mak fellow man oor care
A kindly word or problem share
Can help a weary hert repair
An’ see spirits lift
An’ open haund wae friendly air
Is in oor gift

On happiness, oor Bardie kent
On nichts lik these oor woes ur rent
An’ roon a table blythely bent
Let’s steer the toddy
May the Lord bless us wae content
Mind, soul an’ body.

Hygge (pronounced Hoo-gah) is a core part of Danish and Norwegian culture which Wikipedia refers to as “a form of everyday togetherness” and “a pleasant and highly valued everyday experience of safety, equality, contentment, personal wholeness and a spontaneous social flow”. The Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen has studied the positive effect of hygge on Danish society.
The word ‘happy’ appears 48 times in the collected poems and songs of Robert Burns and ‘content’ is used on 27 occasions. The word ‘unhappy’ appears twice.