Need to know
The term ‘Mad Friday’ is one mainly used in northern England and is especially common in places like Yorkshire, the North East, and the North West. But what does it actually mean?
All you need to know about ‘Mad Friday’
- Mad Friday is a UK term for the last Friday before Christmas, especially associated with pub trips and Christmas parties. The term is mostly one used in northern England. Mad Friday is especially common in places like Yorkshire, the North East, and the North West. In southern England, people are more likely to just say “the last Friday before Christmas” or refer to office Christmas party night without a specific name.
- The term was coined because it’s when many let loose after finishing work for the holidays that day. Offices often hold Christmas parties, pubs and city centres get extremely busy and police and emergency services often see a spike in alcohol-related incidents.
- The saying is becoming more popular as it has spread over time through media and social networks, so you’ll hear it elsewhere in the UK — it’s just strongly rooted in northern usage and culture. Parenting influencer ‘Dadman Tom’, from West Yorkshire, recently took to Instagram to talk about the term, revealing his surprise that not everyone calls the day Mad Friday.
- As well as Mad Friday, the day is sometimes called Black Eye Friday in some northern cities. Others also refer to Mad Thursday in places where celebrations start a day earlier. The day is essentially known as the unofficial start of the Christmas holiday season — festive for some, chaotic for others.
- Police forces regularly report that Mad Friday one of the busiest nights of the year for calls, arrests and responses due to heavy drinking and party-related disorder — and the numbers can be substantial in many areas. South Yorkshire Police recorded more than 2,300 calls in one Mad Friday period back in 2019 — about 1,493 on 101 and 810 on 999 — and officers attended over 400 incidents across the force area.
Read more on Mad Friday as millions of Brits are planning to ignore superflu for the ‘biggest night out of the year’.
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