Calling all ancestral Scots! Homecoming Scotland 2009 – join our year of celebration!

This year is set to be an unmissable year in Scotland, as we are having a year-long celebration of Scotland’s culture - Homecoming Scotland 2009.  And as an ancestral Scot, we are inviting you to come home and celebrate with us in your homeland, Scotland.

So why 2009? 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of our national poet and international cultural icon Robert Burns whose message of friendship and 'Auld Lang Syne' lives on. Over the weekend of 23rd-25th January events are planned throughout Scotland kicking off the 10-month national programme featuring more than 300 events.  The opening weekend programme includes special events in Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway and Glasgow plus an invitation to join the World Famous Burns Supper Celebration, wherever you are in the world.

2009 will not only be a celebration of Robert Burns, but also some of Scotland's other great contributions to the world: Golf, Whisky, The Scottish Enlightenment and Innovation, as well as our rich Culture and Heritage which lives on at home and through the many people of Scots descent who live out with our shores.

During 2009, Homecoming Scotland will offer an extensive programme of exciting and inspirational events and activities. The full events calendar is now available to download, with over 300 events happening throughout the year. 

One of the most exciting events for people with Scots ancestry is The Gathering, the world’s largest ever clan gathering, which will take place on July 25th & 26th in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city.  Not only can you experience the World Highland Games championship at Holyrood Park, but as an ancestral Scot you can join thousands of other proud ancestral Scots by taking your place in the clan parade up Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile, before attending an amazing spectacular at the Clan Pageant on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.  Tickets for The Gathering are available now, so make sure you book your place now!  For more information about this exciting event and to buy your tickets, visit The Gathering’s official website. 

And why not complement your visit to Edinburgh and The Gathering, by coming to see your Clan’s actual homeland where a warm welcome awaits you during the North East Clan Fortnight in August. Aberdeen City and Shire present a unique programme of Homecoming celebrations in the North East.  Attend the première of the only Burns Opera “Ae fond kiss”; Encounter your Chief at Aboyne Highland Games and join the “March of the Clans”. Enjoy Aberdeen’s Tartan Day celebrations, including the spectacular Gordon Highlanders International Beating Retreat, mass Pipe Bands parade, local historical walks, ancestral tourism fair and traditional Scottish music & dance performances. Also see folk legends Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham perform at the Turriff Show, Scotland’s largest two-day Agricultural Show. For more information and details about the North East Clan Fortnight, visit their website.

What’s more if you’re making the trip over, it’s the perfect opportunity to stay for a couple of weeks and take the opportunity to come walk in the footsteps of your ancestors by visiting the area of Scotland they came from or taking a tour of your clan homelands.

For more information please visit the official Homecoming Scotland 2009 website   The full programme of over 300 Homecoming Scotland events is also now available to download here.

Homecoming Scotland – join our year of celebration and come home in 2009!