Mad Friday 2021: When is Mad Friday 2021 and what does it mean?

Mad Friday comes just before Christmas, not to be confused for Black Friday.

This time of year is a flurry of different holidays and special days, observed by different communities around the world.

From Hanukkah to Christmas, Kwanzaa to Thanksgiving, the final few months of the year have various days to remember.

Yet another one is fast approaching: Mad Friday.

Mad Friday was a term first coined by the press, inspired by the strain put on emergency services. Photo: Mario Guti / Getty Images / Canva Pro.

But what actually is it, and on what day will it fall?

What is Mad Friday?

Also known as Frantic Friday, Black Eye Friday, or even Black Friday (not to be confused with the discount day in November), Mad Friday is a nickname for the Friday before Christmas Eve.

It’s the most popular night of the year for corporate and industry Christmas parties.

Police services around the UK have occasionally run campaigns to raise awareness about the holiday. Photo: mARTinDigitalPhotoart / Getty Images / Canva Pro.

This makes it a big night for the hospitality industry – but also for the emergency services, especially the ambulances and the police, due to lots of people drinking and partying together.

The term first came about in 2013, when the press took the term ‘Black Friday’ that was coined by the police and changed it to Mad Friday, to avoid confusion with Black Friday in the United States.

Since then, Mad Friday or Black Eye Friday have both been widely used to refer to the night, due to the large number of fights that often break out in bars, pubs, and clubs across the country.

In some areas of the UK, the same day is dubbed different names.

For example, in Devon, it’s also known as Factory Friday because it’s the last day of work for many factory workers.

In other areas, it’s known as Builders’ Friday, as it’s the last day builders will work before the Christmas break.

Some police services have run special campaigns to raise awareness about Mad Friday.

For example, the Scarborough Police Service tweeted out every 999 call that they received that day, to highlight the strain that is put on the emergency services.

When is Mad Friday 2021?

This year, Mad Friday will fall on December 17th.

This will be one of the earliest Mad Friday’s ever, as Christmas Day falls on a weekend this year, meaning there is a full week between Mad Friday and Christmas Eve.