What Does 'Auld Lang Syne' Really Mean?
The grand finale to the holiday season, New Year's Eve, comes with watching the ball drop live and mixing up New Year's drinks, but of course there's also plenty of emotional reflection on the past year and the year ahead (we've got New Year's quotes for that!). While things may look very different this year, the traditional New Year's Eve song "Auld Lang Syne" will likely still find its way to your ears sometime during the holiday season as the world rings in 2021.
Chances are, you've been part of a festive, heartfelt "Auld Lang Syne" singalong when someone breaks out New Year's songs, but do you know the real meaning behind the song? Here, a quick refresher on the traditional tune you'll hear on December 31:
What does "Auld Lang Syne" mean? Originally written in a language called Scots, which is an ancient twist on English barely recognizable to modern-day English speakers, the phrase literally translates to "old long since," but has adopted a more fluid definition along the lines of "for old time's sake" or "the olden days."
Where does "Auld Lang Syne" come from? The phrase technically dates from the 16th century (think 1580s—truly vintage), but was solely an oral tradition for the first few hundred years. It was not formally written down until around 1788, when the poet Robert Burns incorporated the phrase into one of his works. (Burns is the most commonly credited poet, though other names have appeared in various histories of the phrase.) He was so enamored with the phrase and its esteemed place in Scottish traditions that he submitted his poem to the Scots Musical Museum to preserve it forever.
