FAMILIES and friends across Oxford are coming together to celebrate Sunday’s Burns Night in style.

Various groups are hosting a Burns Supper to celebrate the life and works of Scottish poet Robert Burns.

The suppers are normally held on or near the poet’s birthday on January 25, sometimes also known as Robert Burns Day.

Traditions of the supper involve enjoying neeps and tatties – turnips and potatoes – drinking Scotch whisky and Scottish dancing.

But the main star of the meal is the haggis – a stuffed sheep’s stomach that is formally addressed at the start of the celebration.

Ian Long is a butcher with Meatmaster in Osney Mead, which was started in 2005 as a retail arm for historic Oxford butchers RR Alden & Son.

He said the company has been busy supplying the Scottish classic on a massive scale throughout the county.

Mr Long said: “We are extremely pleased with the haggis sales this year – though we still have some for sale and would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t tried it before.”

And a spokesman for the company added: “We are always very busy when Burns Night is coming up.

“There are a lot of colleges in Oxford that hold Burns Night because it is traditional and a lot of students attend various events.

“We have managed to sell 1,100kg of haggis in the build-up to Burns Night. That amount of haggis is worth about £10,000.”

The first Burns Suppers were held in Ayrshire, Scotland, at the end of the 18th century by friends of Burns on July 21, the anniversary of his death.

Proceedings start with guests sitting and saying grace in the Scottish language.

The grace is usually the Selkirk Grace, which was reportedly delivered by Burns at a dinner given by the Earl of Selkirk.

St Columba’s United Reformed Church in Alfred Road, Oxford, will also play host to residents who want to join in the famous traditions.

Reverend Dr Carla Grosch-Miller said: “We celebrate Burns Night every year because the church was a chaplaincy for Scottish and English Presbyterian students.”

Organiser of the church’s events David Townsend said: “We are excited to celebrate the tradition.

“We also have vegetarian haggis for people that don’t eat meat so anyone can enjoy the celebrations.” “We usually finish with some Scottish dancing and some people will be reading Scottish poetry and anecdotes.”People can join the church’s celebration from 7pm tonight. Tickets cost £10.

Toddlers from the Oxford Nursery at the Oxford Science Park also celebrated Burns Night with home-made Saltires and veggie haggis for lunch.

Owner Dawn Farrell said: “The children really enjoyed the Burns Night celebration.

“It was just was really vibrant and parents were really happy and it also covered the curriculum.”

“We have merged two nurseries so this was our first celebration with two different teams, it was very special.”

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