Raisin

The University of St Andrews and the Spirit of Raisin Weekend

Every autumn, the University of St Andrews bursts to life with one of its most beloved and eccentric traditions: Raisin Weekend. At first glance, the sight of hundreds of students dressed in costumes and covered in foam might seem chaotic, even absurd. Yet beneath the laughter and spectacle lies a ritual that speaks to the heart of the university’s identity — community, mentorship, and continuity.

Raisin Weekend is rooted in the university’s unique system of academic families, in which older students adopt first-years as “children.” These academic parents offer guidance and friendship, helping new students navigate both university life and the wider St Andrews community. The name “Raisin” itself recalls an older custom, when newcomers would gift their mentors a pound of raisins in gratitude. Though the gifts today have evolved into playful tokens, the spirit of reciprocity remains the same.

The weekend unfolds over two days. On Raisin Sunday, academic parents host their children for light-hearted gatherings, games, and tea parties — a blend of mischief and hospitality. The following day, Raisin Monday, the celebration reaches its exuberant climax. Freshers, dressed in elaborate and often ridiculous costumes chosen by their parents, gather in St Salvator’s Quadrangle for the famous foam fight. Armed with cans of shaving foam and good humour, they transform the historic university lawn into a sea of white froth and laughter.

Beneath its spectacle, Raisin Weekend serves a deeper purpose. It weaves new students into the centuries-old fabric of the university, giving them a tangible sense of belonging to a community that extends far beyond their own cohort. For many, it is a defining experience — an initiation not through academic ceremony, but through shared joy, absurdity, and camaraderie. It embodies the paradox at the heart of St Andrews: a university steeped in medieval tradition that still finds room for playfulness and self-mockery.

Critics have occasionally questioned the excesses of the event, but the university and student body have continually adapted the custom, emphasizing inclusion, safety, and creativity over revelry. Today, the focus lies less on indulgence and more on participation — on building bonds that carry through years of study and beyond.

Raisin Weekend endures because it captures something quintessential about student life at St Andrews: the meeting of intellect and imagination, of tradition and reinvention. As foam drifts across the cobblestones and laughter echoes through the quadrangle, each new generation of students takes its place in a lineage stretching back centuries — bound not by raisins or Latin receipts, but by the simple joy of belonging.