Things We Do On A Friday But No Other Day

There is something different about Friday in Britain.

It is technically just another day of the week, but nobody really treats it that way. Monday has a reputation for being difficult, Tuesday is generally ignored, Wednesday is the awkward middle child, Thursday is spent looking forward to Friday, and then Friday finally arrives with its own set of rules.

Some of those rules are obvious. Others are strange little habits that seem to appear automatically. Things we would never dream of doing on a Tuesday suddenly become perfectly acceptable because it is Friday.

And if you have ever said, “It’s Friday, isn’t it?” as justification for something you would normally consider unnecessary, you already know exactly what we mean.

The Friday breakfast treat

Breakfast on a weekday is normally about efficiency.

Grab something, make a cup of tea or coffee and get on with the morning. Friday, however, seems to allow a little more indulgence.

Perhaps it is a bacon sandwich. Maybe it is a trip to the bakery for something that would normally be considered a bit excessive at seven in the morning. For some people, Friday is the day when the full English suddenly becomes a reasonable breakfast choice.

Nobody needs to explain why.

It is Friday.

Buying lunch you would not normally buy

There is also something about Friday that makes us spend slightly more money on lunch.

The packed lunch that has been carefully prepared for Monday to Thursday somehow loses its appeal. Suddenly the local café, sandwich shop, bakery or supermarket meal deal looks much more attractive.

And there is often an unspoken rule that Friday lunch should be slightly better than the rest of the week’s lunches.

Perhaps you get chips. Maybe you have a burger. You might even sit somewhere rather than eating at your desk.

It is not necessarily a big celebration. It just feels like the week deserves a small reward.

The Friday afternoon cup of tea

Tea tastes different on a Friday afternoon.

It probably doesn’t, obviously, but somehow that final cup of the working week feels like an occasion.

There is often a little more chatting involved, particularly in workplaces where everyone knows that the weekend is getting closer. The kettle seems to be used more frequently, biscuits appear from somewhere and conversations that have nothing to do with work suddenly become much more interesting.

Friday afternoon has a strange ability to make even the most ordinary cup of tea feel like the beginning of the weekend.

Saying “Have a good weekend” to everyone

This is perhaps one of Britain’s most reliable Friday rituals.

You can say goodbye to somebody at four o’clock on Thursday and simply say, “See you tomorrow.”

On Friday, the same departure requires a completely different phrase.

“Have a good weekend.”

It gets said to colleagues, neighbours, shop assistants, receptionists, delivery drivers and practically anyone else you are unlikely to see until Monday.

Sometimes you say it to someone you will actually see again later that evening.

It doesn’t matter. Friday requires it.

The Friday supermarket shop

For many households, Friday evening means the big shop.

There is something particularly British about finishing work, heading to the supermarket and buying enough food to make it through the weekend.

The trolley changes too. There might be nicer bread, better cheese, something for Saturday night and a few treats that somehow wouldn’t have made it into the basket on a Wednesday.

You may also find yourself standing in front of the wine, beer or soft drinks section thinking, “Well, it is Friday.”

The phrase has apparently become a valid financial justification.

Fish and chips suddenly make sense

Fish and chips can be eaten on any day of the week, but Friday gives them a special status.

For generations, Friday has been associated with a trip to the chippy. The familiar smell drifting down the road, the paper wrapping, the chips going slightly soggy by the time you get home and the debate over whether anyone actually wants salt and vinegar.

There is something comforting about it.

You don’t have to cook, nobody has to be particularly adventurous and everyone knows exactly what is going to happen.

Friday night dinner sorted.

The Friday night television debate

There was a time when Friday night television was a major part of the week.

Families would gather around the television because there were only a limited number of channels and Friday night often meant something worth watching.

The modern version is slightly different, but the ritual remains.

Someone asks, “What’s on tonight?”

Then comes the inevitable discussion about whether there is anything worth watching, whether everyone wants the same thing and whether somebody has already watched it.

Streaming may have changed the technology, but it hasn’t completely removed the Friday night television ritual.

The Friday night takeaway

There are certain meals that somehow belong to Friday.

Pizza, Chinese, Indian, kebabs and burgers all become slightly more appealing when the working week is finished.

During the week, ordering food can feel like an unnecessary expense. On Friday, it becomes a reward.

You might spend twenty minutes discussing what everyone wants, another ten deciding where to order from and then another five wondering why you ordered so much.

But that is part of the tradition.

Putting music on a bit louder

Music has a different role on Friday evening.

During the week it might be background noise. On Friday, it becomes part of the atmosphere.

You put on a favourite album, turn the radio up in the kitchen or create a playlist that somehow contains songs you haven’t heard for years.

There is no particular reason why the same song should sound better on Friday night.

But it does.

The Friday night drink

For many people, Friday is the night when the first drink of the weekend happens.

It might be a pint at the pub after work, a glass of wine at home, a gin and tonic, a soft drink or simply a cup of tea in front of the television.

The important thing is not necessarily what you are drinking. It is the knowledge that you don’t have to get up for work tomorrow.

That one thought can make an ordinary evening feel considerably more relaxing.

Going to the pub straight from work

The traditional Friday night pub trip deserves its own category.

There was always something slightly different about seeing people from work outside the workplace. Jackets came off, ties were loosened and conversations suddenly became much less formal.

Some people went for one drink.

Everyone knew that meant at least two.

Then somebody would say, “I’m only staying for one,” while everyone else knew perfectly well that this was not going to happen.

The Friday pub was as much about socialising as drinking. It was where the working week officially ended.

The Friday night takeaway trip

There was also the ritual of actually going to collect the food.

You could walk to the local takeaway, drive into town or send someone out with the instruction that seemed simple enough but somehow became a complicated list of requests.

“Don’t forget the chips.”

“And the sauce.”

“And make sure they haven’t forgotten the…”

By the time the person returned, they had effectively completed a logistical operation.

But the smell coming through the front door told everyone that the weekend had properly started.

Staying up later than you should

Friday night gives you permission to ignore the clock.

On a normal weeknight, staying up until midnight can feel like a terrible decision.

On Friday, midnight is practically early.

You might watch another programme, listen to another album, carry on chatting, play another game or simply enjoy the fact that there is no alarm waiting for you in a few hours.

Eventually, you look at the clock and realise it is much later than you thought.

Then you remember.

It’s Saturday tomorrow.

The Friday night lie-in that isn’t really a lie-in

Of course, growing older introduces another Friday ritual.

You announce that you are going to have a lie-in on Saturday.

This sounds wonderful.

Then you wake up at 6.47am anyway.

You lie there trying to convince yourself to go back to sleep, eventually get up for a cup of tea and discover that the rest of the house is still silent.

The ability to sleep until lunchtime appears to be something we lose without ever receiving an official notification.

Friday has its own language

Perhaps the strangest thing about Friday is how much it changes the way we talk.

“Nearly there.”

“Not long now.”

“Thank goodness it’s Friday.”

“Any plans for the weekend?”

“See you Monday.”

And, of course, the phrase that can apparently justify almost anything:

“It’s Friday.”

It doesn’t actually explain anything, but everyone understands it.

The little Friday freedoms

Maybe that is what makes Friday different.

It is not necessarily about going out, drinking, eating takeaway food or staying up late. Sometimes the best Friday is simply getting home, changing into comfortable clothes, putting your feet up and knowing that the weekend is waiting.

After a week of alarms, commuting, school runs, meetings, shopping, cooking and everything else that fills everyday life, Friday gives us permission to ease off the accelerator.

The strange thing is that we do many of these things on other days. We can have fish and chips on a Tuesday. We can watch television until midnight on a Wednesday. We can order a takeaway on a Thursday.

But somehow it doesn’t feel the same.

Friday has become a little cultural loophole in the British week. It is the day when the rules become slightly more relaxed, the food gets slightly better, the music gets slightly louder and the weekend begins before the weekend has officially started.

And perhaps that is why Friday still has its own feeling.

What is the one thing you do on a Friday that you would never normally do on any other day of the week?