Blue Monday – January 15, 2024

Blue Monday is an annual celebration observed on January 15 of this year. Most often, we tend to feel depressed. The reason may vary depending on the person and the situation. For instance, with the completion of Festivus and New Year, anyone would get depressed on seeing the bank account, the amount spent, electricity bills, excess food items, gifts, and every such thing. Blue Monday is the name given to a day in the month of January every year. Celebration Day is claimed to be the most depressing day of the year. However, this Day has nothing to do with depression and has been calculated using a series of mathematical factors.

“Don’t let the Monday morning quarterbacks stop you from being bold. You’ve got to set a high bar.” – Antonio Villaraigosa

History of Blue Monday

Blue Monday has been celebrated since 2005. The Day was established by the holiday company Sky Travel. The company has claimed to have calculated this date using an equation. The date is reported to be falling on the third Monday in January. Sometimes, the Day also falls on the second or fourth Monday or the Monday of the last full week of January. The first such date declared by Sky Travel was on 24 January 2005 as part of a press release published under the name of Cliff Arnall. He has mentioned that this date was devised to help a travel company analyze when people book holidays and holiday trends. Various factors are considered to calculate the data, like weather conditions, debt level, time since Christmas, time since failing New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels, and feeling of a need to take action.

Arnall used one equation in 2006 that represents the following:

where C = time spent on cultural activities, R = time spent relaxing, ZZ = time spent sleeping, Tt = travel time, D = delays, St = time spent in a state of stress, P = time spent packing, Pr = time spent in preparation. However, the units of measurement are not defined.

Both the press releases done in 2005 and 2009 used a different formula, as shown.

Where W = weather, D = debt, d = salary per month, T = time since Christmas, Q = time since failing of New Year’s resolutions, M = low motivational level, and N_a = the feeling of a need to take action. Even in this release, there were no units defined.

The idea is regarded as pseudoscience, with its formula derided by scientists as nonsensical. A neuroscientist named Dean Burnett, who has worked in the psychology department of Cardiff University, has described this work as “farcical with nonsensical measurements.”

Other Celebrations on January 15

January 15 is also celebrated as

• National Strawberry Ice Cream Day
• National Hat Day

How to Celebrate Blue Monday

Although this celebration has been mentioned to be the most depressing day of the year, it is up to the person who takes up this Day. Those who take it as a depressing day can try to come out of it by indulging in doing something enjoyable. Those who take this Day as a good day can indulge in taking a trip, enjoying the cinema, eating at restaurants, smiling, and being nice to people. All of us are encouraged to take up a few little things in life with this event. Share your pictures and thoughts about this Day using the hashtag #BlueMonday on social media.

Thank you for reading the post. You can celebrate every day with Happydays365.org and Happy Blue Monday 2024.