Robert Burns Day

January 25 Robert Burns Day, Burns Night (Scotland and Scottish community) Portrait of Burns 1787, by Alexander Nasmyth (September 9, 1758 - April 10, 1840).

A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) . The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, January 25, sometimes also known as Robert Burns Day (or Robbie Burns Day) or Burns Night, although they may be held at any time of the year.

Burns suppers may be formal or informal. Both typically include haggis (a traditional Scottish dish celebrated by Burns in Address to a Haggis), Scotch whiskey and the recitation of Burns' poetry.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery: This portrait of Burns, framed within an oval, has become the most well-known and widely reproduced image of the Scottish poet. Nasmyth's painting, commissioned by the publisher William Creech, was to be engraved for a new edition of Burn's poems.

He is shown fashionably dressed against a landscape, evoking his rural background in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns and Nasmyth became friends, having been introduced to in Edinburgh by a mutual patron, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton. Nasmyth, pleased to have recorded Burns' likeness convincingly, decided to leave the painting in a slightly unfinished state.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because it's copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1787, are now in the public domain.

This image is also in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris), in this case, Alexander Nasmyth (September 9, 1758 - April 10, 1840), and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from the last day of that year. +sookie tex