Blue Monday: The Marketing Lie That Became a Holiday

Today is, supposedly, the saddest day of the year. Or at least that’s what headlines and brands attempting to sell you something to "cure" your sadness repeat every third Monday of January. But let’s be clear: Blue Monday has no scientific basis. It is a marketing stunt.

It all started in 2005. The travel agency Sky Travel needed to sell tickets during a slow season. They paid Cliff Arnall, a psychologist at Cardiff University, to create an "equation" that would justify the collective depression.

The formula mixed variables like the weather, holiday debt, the time elapsed since the festivities, and low motivation levels. The result was the perfect PR tool, designed to emotionally manipulate you and push you to consume, not to help you understand mental health.

The reality is starker and less mathematical: January is tough because the post-holiday financial pinch weighs heavy and winter is exhausting, not because an equation dictates it. Feeling down doesn't need a date on the calendar.

If we’re going to talk about "Blue Monday," let’s talk about the only one that matters: New Order’s.

Released in 1983, this song is no cheap trick. It is a legendary 12-inch single—one of the most listened-to tracks in history—and a cornerstone of electronic music. Unlike the made-up holiday, the New Order track is born of genuine melancholy and impeccable technical execution. It is cold, mechanical, and danceable; an honest response to pain, not an excuse to sell vacations.

The saddest day of the year is a myth. Sadness is real and doesn't obey marketing calendars. If you feel down today, your feelings are valid, but not because a travel agency from 2005 says so. And if you need a "Blue Monday" in your life, let it be the vinyl spinning, not the hashtag.