Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem by Robert Burns, set to a traditional folk melody, that is traditionally sung to mark the new year. Burns said that he had collected the words from an old man's singing, and he refined them for publication in a collection of Scottish songs. The title means roughly for old times' sake, and the song speaks of remembering old friends and sharing a cup of kindness. It is sung at midnight on New Year's Eve and at Hogmanay in Scotland, usually with people crossing arms and joining hands. It is also sung at farewells, graduations and funerals, and became popular in North America after the Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo broadcast it on New Year's Eve.
Before and after
- from 13 August 1787 to 29 December 1791Seventh Russo-Turkish War
- from 13 September 1787 to 10 October 1787Prussian invasion of Holland
- 17 September 1787United States Constitution
- 25 September 1787Constitutional Convention
- 1788Auld Lang Syne
- from 1788 to 1789Sino-Nepalese War
- 1788James Hutton presents his Theory of the Earth
- 22 January 1788Birth of Lord Byron
- 26 January 1788Founding of Sydney
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of Dream of the Red Chamber
- 18 September 1851Founding of The New York Times
- 1857Rise of Symbolism
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- 28 December 1895The Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screening
- 1909Rise of Futurism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.