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 or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

observed by the

ancient universities of Scotland The ancient universities of Scotland () are medieval universities, medieval and renaissance universities that continue to exist in the present day. Together, the four universities are the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, ol ...

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 heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

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

, which they would make into

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking 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, 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 (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, "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 the preceding Friday. Many countries also have four-day weekends, in w ...

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 is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

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 Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith (born 24 August 1948) is a Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an ...

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 The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

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