Today on My Poetic Side we look at the Scots Tradition of “daft days” which is being used by Lidl this Christmas. We also look at the poetry film which has wowed judges.

Scots 12 Days of Christmas Resurrected by Lidl

A yuletide tradition in Scotland is this year being resurrected by the supermarket chain Lidl as they begin their Christmas campaign.

They have launched their Christmas campaign with the use of “daft days,” a long-forgotten Scots phrase which was made popular by Robert Fergusson, a poet during the 17^th century. The phrase is used to describe the frivolity, fun and merriment of the 12 days that occur between Christmas day and 5^th January.

To help with the campaign, Lidl are bringing together five of the top poets in Scotland to help the country reconnect with this often-forgotten aspect of Christmas culture that is unique to Scotland.

From a dram tae see in the bells to the dreich weather, the daft day poems of Lidl will look at the tale a Christmas that is timeless for the modern Scots. The collection is being led by Len Pennis, a rising star on the Scots literary scene. She drew much acclaim earlier this year when she filmed “Scots word of the day” from her Fife family home.

The other poets who have been drafted in to help are Dumfries & Galloway poet Stuart Paterson, Jo Gilbert who hails from Aberdeen, Dundee’s Gary Robertson and Anne Fraser who lives on the Isle of Lewis and has written her poem in Gaelic.

In order to help school children, explore Scots plans have been made for a series of local poetry workshops to take place virtually, during which the “next generation” of bards will write their own poetry in celebration of “daft days”.

Speaking about the campaign, Pennie said that the collection of poetry for “daft days” is the ideal way to countdown the holiday season whilst also taking a look at how Scots phrase and words used to be an important part of the Christmas tradition. Many of these words and phrases are completely unique in the various parts of Scotland.

Shoppers in Lidl are being asked to purchase a Lidle Book of Big Adventures if they can. The book is being produced in collaboration with National Trust for Scotland and contains a fun activity for those children who would like to write a Scots poem of their own. The book will be in stores from 10^th December.

Irish Judges Wowed by Poetry Film

Noho Mai, an entry from New Zealand, has won first place in the eight International Poetry-film Competition. The competition is run by Ó Bhéal the Irish arts organisation.

The winning entry is a 10-minute film that has been created by 6 poets and is the work of an online poetry workshop. The contributing poets hail from all over the world.

The poem is inspired by the concept of the flight a bird takes to explore the journey of life, and the longing that it has to return to the nest.

One of the poets, Olsen who lives with his poet wife in Spain says that it is the sound of te reo that attracts people to the film. The Māori sound has a way of attracting people’s attention. He believes that the themes explored in the poem will strike a chord with people during the pandemic.