Scottish Glossary

Athole Brose - Hogmanay beverage made with oatmeal water, scotch whiskey and honey.
"For e'er since he wore the tartan hose He dearly liket Athole brose." Neil Gow's Farewell

Ceilidh ("cayley") = dancing + singing + music + poetry + games + skits + humor. Sometimes a ceilidh consists solely of performances, our Ceilidhs are usually primarily dances, with a few performances thrown in.

Scottish Country Dance (SCD) - the social dancing of Scotland.

Demo - dance demonstration.

Ghillies - dancing shoes; resemble a ballet slipper with laces.

Haggis - the traditional Scottish sausage is made with oats, onions, spices and the usual sausage ingredients, stuffed into a sheep's stomach. (Before you say ewww! - consider what other sausages are usually made of and stuffed into.) Traditionally served with neeps or rutabagas (the gold/yellow colored root veggies) and tatties (potatoes). Today, the haggis is often more "Americanized" since some of its parts are hard to acquire.

Highland Dance - solo dancing of Scotland using leaps and acrobatic foot movements.

Hogmanay - Scottish new-years celebration.

Pilling Diagram - system of graphically describing dances, originated by F.L. Pilling inScottish Country Dances in Diagrams.

Robert Burns (1759-1796) - most famous of Scottish poets.

SCD - Scottish Country Dance.

Skean dhu ("skeen doo") - The small knife a man carries in his stocking. (Gaelic meaning black knife)

Sporran - predecessor of the fanny pack, since kilts don't have pockets.

Step Dance - soft version of highland dancing that has roots in national dancing.

Tartan - a plaid design with a repeated pattern, or sett.

Auld Lang Syne - How does it go??

Written by Robert Burns (several of its verses)

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And Days o' lang syne?

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
We'll tak a right guid willie-waught,
For auld lang syne.

Chorus: repeated