Lisa Rogak in her book, Death Warmed Over, writes, "The most prevalent and heart-rending funeral ritual around has to be the playing of the Scottish bagpipes. Without the mournful sounds of the pipes-no Scottish funeral can be considered complete."
And Bertram S. Puckle, authored a tome in 1926 entitled Funeral Customs: Their Origins and Development in which he stated that the most popular food for mourners in Scotland was pancakes. For one thing they "were considered as especially suitable to the occasion, and when, as was often the case in village communities, fifty or more persons undertook the vigil, it must have been no light matter to provide each with his accustomed share." And while some more traditional Scots, while tolerating pancakes at a funeral feast, would be highly offended if a requisite dish of haggis did not appear on the table.
I've had haggis at several Robert Burns birthday dinners. It's not for the faint of heart. But more on that tomorrow.
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