My First Scottish Ceilidh

November was Ceilidh (pronounced Kay lee) season and of course I had to take part in this Scottish country dancing tradition! When I arrived, the International Student Welcome had a Ceilidh planned for us, which I attended, but it doesn’t really count. Basically, it was a bunch of international students many of whom English was not their first language, trying to comprehend the steps that the MC shouted out in his thick Glaswegian accent. It was fun, but most of us were confused. I was excited for a proper ceilidh where everyone would be in kilts and actually know the steps.

The best way for me to describe ceilidh dancing is to compare it to square dancing. There is a live band that will announce the songs and if you’re lucky go over the steps at the beginning. And you’ve always got a partner and either dance around in a big circle of couples or you line up and face your partner in groups of 4-8 couples. There’s lots of twirling and stomping and it’s surprisingly fast paced, you could easily work up a sweat doing this kind of dancing. Like square dancing, which used to be danced at traditional American weddings, ceilidh dancing still takes place in the modern day Scottish wedding. Everyone knows how to do it because they teach it in school and people actually do it outside of school! I really like that. We were taught how to square dance once in gym, but I can’t remember any of the steps because I never had an opportunity to practice it outside of that one class. I’ve never seen square dancing at a wedding. Ceilidh dancing is a lot like square dancing; it’s old fashioned, but everyone does it, young and old! It’s fun too.

Movember is when guys grow out a moustache for the whole month of November to raise awareness for testicular cancer. There’s a similar practice in the US, I’ve heard it called No-Shave November. Anyway, most ceilidhs have a fund raising purpose (although not all, sometimes they are put on just to get the community/family together). This ceilidh was for testicular cancer and had an auction, raffle and pound slide. You had to slide a pound coin as close as you could to a bottle of whiskey and whoever was closest won the bottle. Oh that’s the other thing I forgot to mention, usually you bring your own bottle to ceilidhs, steak out a table, get drunk with your friends and dance all night. It’s a good time. If you’re ever in Scotland, try and get yourself to an authentic Scottish ceilidh, they are loads of fun!