Auld Lang Syne

I suspect the video below will bring a tear to a few people’s eyes — especially if they’re Scottish and away from home. Auld Lang Syne on December 31st will do it for my Scottish wife, as will the skirl of the bagpipes. Put them together and the memories will come flooding back, and Scotland will feel a long way away indeed. Perhaps it’s time we made a trip for her.

Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788. All around the world, at least in English speaking countries, it is sung at midnight on December 31st to celebrate the start of the new year. But never with more emotion than in the homeland of the writer.