Blue Monday is the new name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) claimed to be the most depressing day of the year. The concept was first publicised as part of a 2005 press release from holiday company Sky Travel[1] , which claimed to have calculated the date using an equation. It takes into account weather conditions and this only applies to the Northern Hemisphere. By coincidence, the date in the United States almost always coincides with the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, and so the concept of Blue Monday is not widely known there.
The idea is considered
with its formula derided by scientists as nonsensical.
History
This date was published in a press release under the name of Cliff Arnall, at the time a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a Further Education centre attached to Cardiff University. Guardian columnist Ben Goldacre reported that the press release was delivered substantially pre-written to a number of academics by public relations agency Porter Novelli, who offered them money to put their names to it.[3] The Guardian later printed a statement from Cardiff University distancing themselves from Arnall: "Cardiff University has asked us to point out that Cliff Arnall... was a former part-time tutor at the university but left in February."[4]
Variations of the story have been repeatedly reused by other companies in press releases, with 2014 seeing Blue Monday invoked by legal firms and retailers of bottled water and alcoholic drinks.[5] Some versions of the story purport to analyse trends in social media posts to calculate the date.[5]
In 2018, Arnall told The Independent newspaper that it was "never his intention to make the day sound negative", but rather "to inspire people to take action and make bold life decisions". It was also reported that he was working with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays, having "made it his mission to challenge some of the negative news associated with January and to debunk the melancholic mind-set of "Blue Monday"".[6]
In Scotland, Trust Deed Scotland, a trading name of Harper McDermott wrote an article about Blue Monday and launched an appeal helping individuals in Scotland who were experiencing financial difficulties. Together, we can beat Blue Monday [7]
Date
The date is generally reported as falling on the third Monday in January,[8] but also on the second or fourth Monday,[8] or the Monday of the last full week of January.[9] The first such date declared was 24 January in 2005 as part of a Sky Travel press release
The idea is considered
with its formula derided by scientists as nonsensical.
History
This date was published in a press release under the name of Cliff Arnall, at the time a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a Further Education centre attached to Cardiff University. Guardian columnist Ben Goldacre reported that the press release was delivered substantially pre-written to a number of academics by public relations agency Porter Novelli, who offered them money to put their names to it.[3] The Guardian later printed a statement from Cardiff University distancing themselves from Arnall: "Cardiff University has asked us to point out that Cliff Arnall... was a former part-time tutor at the university but left in February."[4]
Variations of the story have been repeatedly reused by other companies in press releases, with 2014 seeing Blue Monday invoked by legal firms and retailers of bottled water and alcoholic drinks.[5] Some versions of the story purport to analyse trends in social media posts to calculate the date.[5]
In 2018, Arnall told The Independent newspaper that it was "never his intention to make the day sound negative", but rather "to inspire people to take action and make bold life decisions". It was also reported that he was working with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays, having "made it his mission to challenge some of the negative news associated with January and to debunk the melancholic mind-set of "Blue Monday"".[6]
In Scotland, Trust Deed Scotland, a trading name of Harper McDermott wrote an article about Blue Monday and launched an appeal helping individuals in Scotland who were experiencing financial difficulties. Together, we can beat Blue Monday [7]
Date
The date is generally reported as falling on the third Monday in January,[8] but also on the second or fourth Monday,[8] or the Monday of the last full week of January.[9] The first such date declared was 24 January in 2005 as part of a Sky Travel press release
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