Blue Monday is alive and well in the public imagination. But does it really apply to our island?

“January always shocks Cyprus. It springs itself on us,” says Limassolian Christos Damianos.

“We’ve just had all the jollity of Christmas, and then – bang! Suddenly it’s cold, we’re broke, and everything feels flat.”

Christos isn’t alone in his assessment.

“Everyone always thinks of Cyprus as super hot,” suggests Nicosia-based Dina Iordannou. “But winter can be a real trial: our homes just aren’t built for colder weather, so we’re all shivering over hot water bottles. And our salaries certainly aren’t made for the excesses of Christmas. It’s no wonder we’re all depressed come January.”

Are we though? According to fortune.com, the world’s winter depression hotspots fall overwhelmingly into the northerly latitudes. Unsurprisingly, Greenland, Finland and Sweden top the ranks, suggesting the cold dark months (and consequent seasonally affective disorder) play a large part in the winter blues.

But it isn’t just about latitude. The UK is fourth, ahead of both Norway and Iceland – both 10 degrees more northerly. Clearly, when it comes to the weathering the worst of winter, other factors are at play: work-life balance, attitudes to mental health, financial pressures, population density, dietary habits, social connection and opportunities for outdoor recreation.

And that brings us back to Cyprus which, on the whole, doesn’t fare too badly. We may not have European salaries or central heating, but we’re certainly enjoying other advantages.

“Back in the UK, you’re basically stuck indoors staring at the telly for two months of the year,” says Paphos expat Jenny Abdon. “You’re freezing, because you spent so much on Christmas that you can’t run the boiler. You’re living off left-over chocolate and mince pies. And your friends are in the same boat: trapped inside. It’s miserable.”

January in Cyprus can mean coffee on the balcony and – if you’re feeling brave – even a swim

Here, winter is different, she adds. “I’m walking the dogs along the coast every morning, and often eating outside in the evenings with friends. I have my coffee on the balcony, and will even go for a swim if I’m feeling brave. January in Cyprus is far from depressing.”

The media, however, would disagree. A great many papers are sold on the idea that January is the most depressing month. And that it contains the most depressing day of the year – in the northern hemisphere at least. But there’s more to this story than first meets the eye.

Twenty years ago, a Cardiff university researcher claimed he’d come up with an algebraic equation that pinpointed the third Monday of January as the unhappiest day of the year. The press jumped on the idea, calling it ‘Blue Monday’.

The supposedly scientific formula reads: [W+(D-d)]xTQ/MxNA. W is weather, D is debt, d monthly salary, T time since Christmas, Q time since failure of attempt to give something up, M low motivational level and NA the need to take action.

It looks serious, doesn’t it? The formula takes in everything from the cold (which most people hate), to post-Christmas financial woes, New Year’s resolutions and the general lack of willingness to spend half an hour struggling into cold weather gear just for a pint of milk.

However, what it doesn’t allow for is the meteorologically mild Mediterranean. Nor for citrus season, or a people who look out for their neighbours and have an enduring social spirit. And it doesn’t take in all of the ski-ers, or parents whose kids are finally back at school.

But here’s the really important bit. If you investigate, reports suggest the Cardiff researcher was actually working with Sky Travel and Virgin Holidays. And the results were intended to coerce the unsuspecting public into buying flights to sunnier (read: happier) destinations.

Nevertheless, the term Blue Monday lives on in the public imagination – an unstoppable phenomenon for the slow news days at the start of every year.

“I think there’s some truth to it,” says the shockable Christos. “Christmas and the lead up to it is all colour and love and fun. But by mid-January the lights and the happiness and the parties are over. And you’re left looking into the long, cold abyss of work, work, work.”

Miranda Tringis disagrees. Like Jenny, she suggests that the way you look at winter may be less indicative of weather than of mindset.

“When you embrace the season, January becomes a time for introspection and renewal,” says the Avgorou-based herbalist. “Nature shows us the winter way – animals hibernate, plants drop their energy into their roots. It’s a time when we too can slow down and nurture ourselves.”

In Cyprus, she adds, nature provides exactly what’s needed. “Citrus fruit packed with vitamins is in season. And you’ll find sage tea – the herb of longevity – in every mountain café, where it’s been used for generations against winter colds and flus.”

For Miranda, January isn’t bleak – it’s exciting. “When the clutter of Christmas is gone, there’s space for new dreams and goals. Winter is the time to plant the seeds for the year ahead; a time to be, not do.”

Perhaps it’s all a matter of perspective. While some see January as bleak, others find it a season of possibility. And that brings us to an equally curious concept: the so-called ‘Happiest Day of the Year’.
Those same researchers who originated Blue Monday also came up with the idea of the ‘Happiest Day of the Year’. It’s a day that hasn’t received global acclaim (misery sells more papers than joy!). But it is, according to the formula, the second Friday of July – in 2025, July 11.

This time, the formula takes in everything from mindfulness to kindness, as well as the three Fs: friends, family and fun. Which all sounds brilliant. Until you discover that, yet again, the survey was sponsored. By none other than Wall’s ice cream – a company with a very vested interest in associating summer with pleasure.

So next time someone mentions the winter blues, maybe remind them that happiness and sadness are personal. That anyone who’s trying to tell you otherwise is probably trying to sell you something.
And that in Cyprus, where the sun often shines in January, perhaps we have a headstart on winter joy.