was held. First held in 1889, it was the largest of its kind in Europe. Student groups and societies build floats and parade in fancy dress through the city centre to raise money for local charities. Traditionally spectators donated money in the form of coppers, a colloquial term for 1p and 2p coins.
=== University accommodation ===
Halls of residence are managed by the university. Two large concentrations of university accommodation are provided on the campus in Old Aberdeen and one mile north at the Hillhead Student Village, accessible by a walk through Seaton Park.
Campus accommodation in the heart of Old Aberdeen consists of self-catered King's Hall and Elphinstone Road Halls.
The university has a "First-Year Accommodation Guarantee" providing that the student accept their firm offer before a set date prior to the beginning of term. In 2014–15, the university ran out of rooms and had to resort to temporary accommodation. The university continues to monitor accommodation costs and where possible offers discretionary support to students, to improve access to higher education.
Halls of residence include:
The first modern halls of residence built by the university on the King's College campus was Crombie halls, named after James Edward Crombie. They opened in 1960. The Crombie-Johnston halls were closed in 2017 following a decline in demand for catered accommodation.
The Elphinstone Road halls were completed in 1992.
== Traditions ==
=== Sponsio Academica ===
The Sponsio Academica is the oath, originally in Latin, taken by students matriculating into the four ancient Scottish universities (Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Aberdeen and Glasgow). This tradition now has been digitised at Aberdeen and is agreed to as part of an online matriculation process. Originally, new students matriculated in Mitchell Hall where the Chancellor would give a welcoming address.
Since 1888 the School of Medicine has used a form of the Sponsio Academica for graduating students to affirm in response to the discontinuation of the oath …
