Mad Friday is a Christmas tradition that feels as old as time.
Marking the last Friday before Christmas Eve, it’s one of the busiest nights of the year - with revellers taking to the town for a final night of fun and mayhem before Santa visits.
There's always plenty of 'mad' outfits, alleyway snoozes, make-out sessions, takeaway binges... and some x-rated exploits for good measure.
And it all ends with many heads hung in shame and regret the very next morning.
For better or worse, it’s unlikely that we’ll have much of a Mad Friday this year due to the new guidelines amid a surge in cases - with almost 100 suspected Omicron cases now discovered in Greater Manchester.
A number of venues have already announced that many Christmas parties booked have already been cancelled as a result of the latest measures.
Therefore, December 17 could just pass us by like a ship in the night - as we sip on our mulled wine in a quiet, socially-distanced manner and think about all of the drunken conversations we could have been having with strangers at 2am.
In true Christmas tradition and akin to the Ghost of Christmas Past, we thought we’d take a step back in time and look at some of Manchester’s iconic Mad Friday moments.
From men dressed as Power Rangers and the Blues Brothers to drunken snogs and pure unadulterated chaos, Mad Friday really is, in so many ways, the gift that keeps on giving.
Mad Friday has also garnered a bit of a reputation from those who take the festivities a little too far - leading to a huge spike in call-outs from emergency services as they respond to all kinds of fights, arguments and anti-social behaviour.
In that sense, there will be many who can breathe a sigh of relief that Mad Friday probably won't be as Mad this time round.
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