Hundreds of first-year students at St Andrews University in Scotland gathered on Monday morning for Raisin Monday, a centuries-old annual tradition that has evolved into a massive, modern-day shaving foam battle.
The ritual marks the culmination of a 600-year-old tradition where first-year students thank older student mentors for helping them settle into university life. While the event historically involved freshers presenting their academic "parents" with a pound of raisins, today’s participants trade dried fruit for elaborate fancy dress and cans of aerosol foam.
At 11am on Monday, crowds of students dressed in imaginative costumes—including Smurfs, mice, bananas, grandmas, sunflowers, and chefs—streamed onto St Salvator’s lower college lawn. Armed with shaving cream, participants covered one another in soapy clouds, continuing a playful rite of passage that has defined the Scottish university's autumn calendar for decades.