blue monday meaning

But is the idea rooted in science, and where did it first come from? The concept was first published in a 2005 press release from the company, which claimed to have calculated the date using an "equation". [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". "‘Blue Monday’ is unscientific, and trivialises depression - which in reality is a potentially life-threatening condition. Why is it called Blue Monday? Ben Goldacre has observed that the equations "fail even to make mathematical sense on their own terms", pointing out that under Arnall's original equation, packing for ten hours and preparing for 40 will always guarantee a good holiday, and that "you can have an infinitely good weekend by staying at home and cutting your travel time to zero". One holds that the churches were decorated in blue on that day. Late 18th century originally in German contexts, in reference to a Monday during which people chose not to work, especially as a result of excessive indulgence over the course of the weekend (the reason why such a Monday should be described as blue is not clear). It has been noted as an example of the hi-NRG style of club music, as well. Definition of blue monday in the Definitions.net dictionary. [8], The formula uses many factors, including: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action. It’s the day when the financial pressure of the Christmas just passed hangs … Arnall also says, in a press release commissioned by Wall's ice cream,[11] that he has calculated the happiest day of the year – in 2005, 24 June,[12] in 2006, 23 June,[13] in 2007, 20 June[14] and in 2010, 18 June. In 2021, that’s 18 January. In 2020, Samaritans handed out cups of tea at Edinburgh’s Waverley station to help morning commuters get through the day, encouraging them to share a cup of tea with someone in their office who may be feeling lonely. … [5] Some versions of the story purport to analyse trends in social media posts to calculate the date. 1 A Monday on which one feels gloomy or dispirited, especially because one has to return to work after the weekend. But ‘Blue Monday’ has a sonic impact that very, very few records have. sort form. So whether it’s all a load of nonsense or not, Blue Monday at least shines a spotlight on loneliness, and gets people talking about depression, even if only fleetingly. Blue Monday Also found in: Wikipedia. No one will ask what you’re doing for Valentine’s Day this year. But as you'll see, it’s not always reported as being on that date. It is a myth, a false calculation based on things like the gloomy weather, post-Christmas debt, disappointment from not keeping new year’s resolutions, dissatisfaction about going back to work and general doom and gloom. The bluest day of the year, Blue Monday, takes place on the third Monday of January. These lyrics could easily be applied to the plight of women or to the gay culture but applies to any minority held down by hate and fear of others. Information and translations of blue monday in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. A friend of mine told me he read an article where New Order themselves stated that Blue Monday is about Ian Curtis. The title “Blue Monday” doesn’t appear anywhere in the lyric, so where did it come from? "[3] Arnall himself now campaigns against the concept of Blue Monday via Twitter. What does blue monday mean? One of its illustrations read: "Goodbye Blue Monday," referring to the invention of the washing machine improving housewives' lives. Monday 18 January marks ‘Blue Monday’, the most depressing day of the year. The title “Blue Monday” which typically describes a Monday on which one feels too depressed to return to work, does not appear in the lyrics of the song. Find more opposite words at wordhippo.com! “It combines things that have no quantifiable way of being combined. 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. Monday 18 January marks ‘Blue Monday’, the most depressing day of the year. These form part of a … About “Blue Monday” The biggest selling 12” of all time was a pivotal moment in dance music. Blue Monday song meanings Add your thoughts 47 Comments. ©JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. A calque of German ‘blauer Montag’, ‘blue Monday’ originally denoted a Monday on which people chose not to work as a result of excessive indulgence over the course of the weekend. The concept was first published in a 2005 press release from the company, which claimed to have calculated the date using an "equation". I hated the feeling of not having any control over my own life. And when it transpired that Blue Monday was the biggest selling 12” single of all time, Factory were looking at a lost fortune. [2] Dean Burnett, a neuroscientist who has worked in the psychology department of Cardiff University, has described the work as "farcical", with "nonsensical measurements".[10]. All of these factors combined are a perfect storm for the day believed to be the most… [6], The date is generally reported as falling on the third Monday in January,[7] but also on the second or fourth Monday. "Blue Monday" was composed on a prototype-level homebrew "step-time" sequencer in binary code. But Guardian writer Ben Goldacre – known for his Bad Science column and series of books – revealed that the press release was sent pre-written by a PR company to a number of academics, who were offered money to put their name to it. That original press release appeared to have been written by Cliff Arnall, a tutor at Cardiff University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning. Email This BlogThis! Blue Monday is a PR stunt that was originally dreamed up to sell holidays. Blue Monday usually falls on the third Monday of every New Year, and is considered the most “depressing” day on the calendar. It was originally written in the key of D minor and contains a basic chord progression of Dm–F–C–Dm–G–C. The Real Meaning Of Blue Monday The Blue Monday myth - like all good legends - has some elements of truth. Debt level, time since Christmas, weather, motivation – the equation combines all these things, but that’s not possible.”. We know that some people living with … [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. List of European countries set to welcome UK tourists back. Scientists have dismissed the idea as baseless pseudoscience. She would bring me down to nothing, tell me exactly how I was to feel/act. Over 15 years on, despite its pseudo scientific origins, Blue Monday still trends on social media every year. In 2021, you’re definitely off the hook. The charity is pushing for it to become known as ‘Brew Monday’, a day when connecting with others over a cuppa can help weather the ups and downs of life. The day was coined as this time of year is said to be when we have no … In fact, the birth of the idea is shrouded in controversy, and despite usually falling on the third Monday of the year, some outlets report the date as being on the second or fourth Monday of January. BLUE MONDAY - "It is an unquestioned fact that during the Middle Ages the Monday before the beginning of Lent was called Blue Monday - but there are two schools of thought as to why it got that name. “All you need is a kettle and some mugs, and this could make a huge difference in someone’s life,” they say. It takes into account weather conditions and thus only applies to the Northern Hemisphere. handed out cups of tea at Edinburgh’s Waverley station. The 2005 press release[8] and a 2009 press release[9] used a different formula: where W=weather, d=debt, D=monthly salary, T=time since Christmas, Q=time since failing our new year's resolutions, M=low motivational levels, and Na=the feeling of a need to take action. This year's Blue Monday falls during a lockdown in a worldwide pandemic, meaning that challenges faced by many people in winter will be felt even more acutely. You're welcome! At a time when it’s more important than ever to reach out, that can only be a good thing. Meaning of blue monday. January 21 has been named Blue Monday - the most depressing day of the year. The release claimed Blue Monday was reached by “taking into account various factors” such as average temperature, days since the last pay day, days until the next bank holiday, average hours of daylight, and the number of nights in during the month. An alternative to the term Cyber Monday, Blue Monday is the Monday after Black Friday, when online retailers will be looking for their biggest sales from those who checked out products over the … Will face coverings ever go away in the UK – and why they could be here to stay, Where can I travel abroad in summer 2021? According to Dr Dean Burnett, a tutor at Cardiff University’s division of psychological medicine and clinical neurosciences, “there are so many reasons to believe [the Blue Monday equation is] nonsense. Blue means sad and monday means 'start' or beginning. "I know that because I have received an avalanche of insider stories… including one from an academic in psychology who was offered money by Porter Novelli PR agency to put his name to the very same Sky Travel equation story that Arnall sold his to," he said. Part of the song is about him, part is about his suicide. That's mainly down to the PR industry, who use Blue Monday as a chance to push their products, whether they be wellbeing products, fitness items, or other self-improvement and happiness boosting tools. 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"". Antonyms for blue monday include carefree Monday, cheerful Monday, good Monday, great Monday and happy Monday. “Firstly, the equation wasn’t the result of some psychological study by a reputable lab, but conducted by a travel company, who then fished around for a psychologist to put his name to it, to make it seem credible. The term ‘Blue Monday’ was coined back in 2005 and you may be surprised where the idea came from. [15] So far, this date has fallen close to Midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere (June 21 to 24). (Picture: Getty) 2020 was not the best year for … ", "Campaign aims to help ease January blues British public urged to 'Beat Blue Monday, "Blue Monday: a depressing day of nonsense science (again)", "It's the happiest day of the year, formula shows", "Smile, it's the happiest day of the year", "Today is the happiest day of the year according to Cliff Arnall's maths formula", "Happiness is, today, claims maths equation", "Blue Monday is bad and you shouldn't feel bad about ignoring it", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_Monday_(date)&oldid=1015610537, Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 2 April 2021, at 13:20. When can we stop wearing face masks? … But a lot of good has come of the date too. However, the band has revealed that the title was inspired by an illustration “Goodbye Blue … Sometimes, there’s no better way to feel more at ease than calling a close … General CommentThis song reminded me of when I lived at home with my mom. Talk it out with a friend. Peter Saville reckons the story was exaggerated. Blue Monday is the name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) said by a UK travel company, Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day of the year. It’s the day when the financial pressure of the Christmas just passed hangs over us most, the weather is at its worst, and the extra pounds we’ve acquired over the holiday season are proving harder to shift than we anticipated. Blue Monday is the name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) said by a UK travel company, Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day of the year. The song has been labelled a "synth-pop classic" and described as cementing the group's movement from post-punk to alternative dance. CHRISTMAS is over, lockdown drags on, and you may have put on a few pounds – yes, it’s Blue Monday. New Order came up with the rhythm when they were experimenting with a new Oberheim DMX drum machine they had purchased. [2] 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. The weather is freezing and the mornings are dark and foreboding, with the celebrations of the festive season fading into distant memory. In 2021, Blue Monday falls on the 18th of January. This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Units of measurement are not defined; as all the factors involve time, dimensional analysis of the "formula" shows that it violates the fundamental property of dimensional homogeneity and is thus meaningless. Despite its widespread acceptance among the British public, there is no scientific evidence to suggest the third Monday of the year is any more or less depressing than any other day. Blue Monday definition is - a Monday that is depressing or trying especially because of the return to work and routine after a weekend. Dubbed ‘Blue Monday’ it is claimed that the third Monday of January is when people feel the most down every year. [7] The first such date declared was 24 January in 2005 as part of a Sky Travel press release. Blue Monday It's either a load of old rubbish or a day to dread (more than any other day these last few months) but whatever you think, however you feel, it's cold and dark and this might, just make you feel a little bit better. Blue Monday’s claim as the most depressing day of the year has been around since 2005 when psychologist Professor Cliff Arnall coined the concept. Posted by Tim Atkinson at 17:51. [1], This date was published in a press release under the name of Cliff Arnall, who was at the time a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a Further Education centre attached to Cardiff University. It’s called Blue Monday because it’s the time of year when we are supposedly feeling most blue and at our lowest. Unfortunatly he couldn't remeber the source...he remebers it was a magazine and he thinks it may have been a very old Rolling Stone. Monday, 18 January 2021. a Monday following a Sunday of dissipation, or itself given to dissipation (as the Monday before Lent). Blue Monday has its origin in 2005, when psychologist Cliff Arnall designed a mathematical formula to calculate which day of the calendar could be considered the saddest of the year. Despite lending his name to the concept, Arnall himself now campaigns against the idea of Blue Monday via his Twitter account. When do hairdressers open in Scotland? When can we stop wearing face masks? View by: Highest Rated; Most Recent; Oldest First +2. where Tt = travel time; D = delays; C = time spent on cultural activities; R = time spent relaxing; ZZ = time spent sleeping; St = time spent in a state of stress; P = time spent packing; Pr = time spent in preparation. The release claimed the formula that gives us Blue Monday is C(P+B) N+D, an equation which “allows us to work out the day with the highest 'depression factor' which you can then use as a focus for making things better, booking your holiday etc...”, It doesn't take much effort to see the true purpose of Sky Travel's press release – selling more holidays – and Goldacre said “these equations are scientifically uninformative, and driven by money.”. It takes into account weather conditions and thus only applies to the Northern Hemisphere. The concept as first widely publicised as … Anyone else ever heard this? It seems like our relationship was so much like this. 2. Under the influence of the adjective ‘blue’ in the sense ‘dismal’, it came to denote a … Where can I travel abroad in summer 2021? Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest. "Blue Monday: a depressing day of pseudoscience and humiliation", "MS = media slut, but CW = corporate whore", "How GxPxIxC = selling out to your corporate sponsor", "Man who coined the term 'Blue Monday' apologises for making January more depressing", "Blue Monday: is it really the most depressing day of the year? The concept of ‘Blue Monday’ appears to have originated in 2005, in a press release from now defunct holiday company and TV channel Sky Travel, who claimed to have used an equation to calculate the date. 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