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To the Scots, Robert Burns is every bit as important as William Shakespeare as a literary figure. The poet wrote in English and in Scots dialect and is probably best known for writing the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, which most of us can just about half remember by the time we come to sing it each New Year’s Eve. Burns died at the age of just 37 (from a rheumatic condition thought to have been worsened by prodigious drinking), though he left enough of a legacy to be celebrated each year on 25 January, when Scots and their descendants mark Burns’ Night. This occasion sees Burns’ Address to a Haggis (see haggis) being read, which is followed by a large amount of haggis eating and whisky drinking. Robert Burns is in no way related to Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons, though he is celebrated in the United States by having two towns named after him.