From the cottage of birth at Alloway, to the place of his burial in Dumfries, it seemed all of Scotland belonged to Burns last night.
From the cottage of birth at Alloway, to the place of his burial in Dumfries, it seemed all of Scotland belonged to Burns last night as thousands joined in celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of the entry to the world of Robert Burns, national bard.
There were up to 10,000, including children from more than 40 schools, marching through Dumfries, where Burns stayed in his later years, a wreath-laying ceremony in Edinburgh, a similar salute in Ayr and an estimated 3000 suppers across the world.
The candlelight procession in Dumfries, with glowlight lanterns, culminated in the burning of a giant wooden model of Burns's character Tam O' Shanter.
The celebrations were led by First Minister Alex Salmond who proclaimed the weekend a successful launch to a year-long programme of events which the Scottish Government hopes will raise the country's profile.
Events began with Mr Salmond attending a church service at Alloway in the heartland of Burns country, while Culture Minister Linda Fabiani and the Duke of Buccleuch joined the many who took part in the commemorative event in Dumfries.
Mr Salmond later attended the wreath-laying ceremony at a statue of Burns in Ayr, and was later last night taking part in the lantern procession in Dumfries.
The First Minister said: "Homecoming Scotland could not have got off to a better start with tens of thousands of people taking part in sell-out events across Scotland, and around the globe.
"The 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns has been celebrated on a global scale and as it should be - with dancing, singing, laughter and of course the odd dram.
"I have no doubt that if he were here today, Robert Burns would make every effort to attend every single one of the 300 events we have planned across Scotland this year.
"And he would be delighted to see his year of birthday celebrations off to such a flying start."
Events and exhibitions took place yesterday at locations in Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The Homecoming 2009 celebrations will see more than 300 events being held across Scotland until St Andrew's Day at the end of November. Locations in Ayrshire which are associated with the bard, including the stone cottage in Alloway where he was born in 1759, the Auld Kirk and the Brig O'Doon - which featured in his famous poem Tam O' Shanter - were also been brought to life with recitals and performances.
A sculpture by Graeme Gilmour of O'Shanter on his horse Meg was placed on the Brig O'Doon. The story of Burns's sometimes controversial life was also being projected on to Glasgow's City Chambers in a 15-minute light and sound show.
During the course of the day, Mr Salmond found himself making common cause with Prime Minister and political foe Gordon Brown, who has described the egalitarian poem A Man's A Man for A' That as his favourite Burns work.
Mr Salmond yesterday agreed, and quoted from the poem - a quotation which ended with the phrase "the man of independent mind looks and laughs at all that".
The Scottish Government is asking "affinity" Scots around the world to return home and join the celebrations with 100,000 tourists expected and a £40m boost to the economy.
Many events were completely sold out, with organisers reporting interest from foreign visitors as well as Scots but it was mainly Scots joining the procession in Dumfries.
Anne Skelmorlie, of Dumfries, said: "We grew up with Rabbie Burns. From a very early age we learned the verses."
But Labour in Scotland have questioned the Scottish Government's approach, and have claimed that preparations for marketing Homecoming internationally are moving too slowly. Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said the Scottish Government should step up support for tourism. "We need to make sure that this is a big year for Scotland and not just a big weekend," he said.
"Robert Burns has left us an extraordinary legacy of poetry and song that is a source of affinity and pride for Scots around the world.
"Homecoming was Labour's idea and we want it to be a success, so that the celebrations play a role in sustaining the economy and create a legacy for the future.
"It is therefore very worrying that real-term investment in tourism is due to fall over the next two years and the preparations for marketing Homecoming internationally are falling behind."
But Mr Salmond rejected the Labour criticism and said he was confident it would be a success.
"I don't think their (Labour's) problem is so much with the SNP," he said. "They find the two words success' and Scotland' rather difficult to align together."
Meanwhile, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is to travel to Scotland to deliver a lecture as part of the Homecoming celebrations, it was confirmed yesterday.
Mr Annan was invited to attend last night's Homecoming Burns Supper in Alloway, but had been unable to do so because of other commitments. However he wrote to Mr Salmond, telling him he would like to come to Scotland during the Homecoming year to deliver a public lecture. Scottish Government officials are now in contact with Mr Annan's office to arrange an appropriate opportunity for him to come to Scotland.
Both the Burns Humanitarian Awards in Ayr in May and the Burns World Federation Conference in Edinburgh in September are being considered as possible events for the former UN Secretary General to speak at.
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: "It shows just how committed Kofi Annan is to Scotland and Robert Burns that he has offered to come to Scotland to deliver a public lecture."
In 2004, Mr Annan delivered the inaugural Robert Burns Memorial Lecture in New York.
