Screenshot of our chair Jennifer presenting her toast with cursive style writing reading "Happy Burns Night!"

A Burns Night toast from Humanist Society chair Jennifer Buchan

January 25, 2026

Our Charity

To mark Burns Night 2026, here’s Humanist Society Scotland chair, Jennifer Buchan, with her abridged and extended version of Burns’s famous Selkirk Grace.

The original poem is about being thankful for what we have, and remembering those who have less, or are suffering. It’s read before sitting down to the traditional Burns Night supper of haggis, neeps, and tatties.

Jennifer’s version recognises the people who prepared the food, the farmers who grew it. We love this updated grace, recognising and extending Burns’s humanist message of empathy and understanding.