Meal Monday (also known as Oatmeal MondayRodney Dale, ''Book of When: A Dictionary of Times And Seasons'', Book Sales, 2005, ) was a traditional

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

observed by the

ancient universities of Scotland The ancient universities of Scotland () are medieval and renaissance universities which continue to exist in the present day. The majority of the ancient universities of the British Isles are located within Scotland, and have a number of distinct ...

on the second Monday of February. During the 17th century, Scottish university students lived in very basic accommodation and were required to bring their own fuel,

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

, to maintain a fire.Printing in Scotland 1507-1947
, The Scottish Printing Archival Trust, Retrieved 12 October 2007 Their diet was meagre too, largely consisting of

oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...

, which they would make into

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

. This lifestyle would remain typical until the late 19th century. The Rev. James Sharp noted that as a student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, "the liberal arts, sciences and theology were cultivated on oatmeal, with an occasional glass of beer on a Saturday night."Laurence Hutton, ''Literary Landmarks of the Scottish Universities'', G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1904 As the students' country homes or farms were some distance from the city universities, an occasional

long weekend A long weekend is a weekend that is at least three days long (i.e. a three-day weekend), due to a public or unofficial holiday occurring on either the following Monday or preceding Friday. Many countries also have four-day weekends, in which ...

was scheduled to permit them to replenish their supplies.Andrew Cheviot, ''Proverbs, Proverbial Expressions and Popular Rhymes of Scotland'', Alexander Gardner, Publisher, 1896Alexander Morgan, Scottish University Studies, ''The Journal of Higher Education'', Vol. 5, No. 6, 1934, pp. 344-346 Originally, and until as recently as 1885, these Meal Mondays would occur regularly; the University of Edinburgh had one on the first Monday of every month. However, by 1896 Edinburgh established just one official holiday, on the second Monday in February. Meal Monday remained widely observed in Scotland during the late 19th and 20th century, with

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Universities also having the academic holiday.Helen M Munro, Some Recent Notes and Recollections of Queen Margaret College Life, in ''The Book of the Jubilee'', J. MacLehose and Sons, 1901Robin Cameron, Graham Bird, Obituary: Professor Robert Cross, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 7 October 2000 In 2006, Scottish author

Alexander McCall Smith Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE (born 24 August 1948), is a British writer. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an expert on medical law and ...

reported that " twas still celebrated some 30 years ago, when I was a student, although nobody used it to fetch oatmeal."Alexander McCall Smith
My life in a single bite
''Observer Food Monthly'', 20 August 2006 By the beginning of the 21st century, however, the Universities no longer afforded their students an official Meal Monday holiday,General Information - Public Holidays
University of Aberdeen, retrieved 12 October 2007
University of Glasgow, retrieved 12 October 2007Semester Dates
University of Edinburgh, retrieved 12 October 2007 though the

University of St. Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

still maintains Meal Monday as a statutory holiday for "manual staff."Holiday Entitlement - 1 September to 31 August each year
University of St. Andrews, retrieved 12 October 2007

References

{{reflist Holidays in Scotland February observances Public holidays in the United Kingdom Ancient universities of Scotland Social history of Scotland