The History of Blue Monday
Blue Monday was created back in 2005 by Sky Travel Shop, a television channel devoted exclusively to programs about travelling, documentaries and commercials for travel agencies. The day was originally part of a publicity campaign, but later gained popularity and its share of both supporters and opponents, and seems to generally be here to stay. The date varies from year to year, depending on a variety of factors, such as weather, debt, the time that has passed since Christmas day, the time that has passed since we failed at fulfilling our New Year's resolutions, low motivational levels connected with previous failures, and the need to take action. The formula for calculating which day is the "bluest day of the year has been mocked by many academics as pseudoscience, as it does not use any specific units and does not seem to be particularly foolproof. Nevertheless, it was published under the name of Cliff Arnall, who had at that time been a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a Further Education center attached to Cardiff University.