Why is December 3rd going viral on TikTok?

You might have heard of October 3rd, a cult-favorite reference to Mean Girls, but are you aware of December 3rd?

December 3rd is basically a national holiday of its own now over on TikTok and while some are privy to the details of the trend, it’s quite possible you’re left in the dark if you haven’t been around the social media platform for a while.

So what is the history of December 3rd? You can credit Conan Gray’s ethereal song, “Heather,” for this one.

The first lyric in Conan’s song begins with, “I still remember, third of December/ Me in your sweater, you said it looked better on me than it did you.”

The song continues, “Only if you knew / How much I liked you.”

The indie song itself is a melody about unrequited love and longing for a person who is in love with someone else, in this song they are referred to as “Heather,” a nod to the 1988 film of the same name.

In short: December 3rd is trending on TikTok because it’s the date in the song when that the narrator is said to have been pining over their crush, and who unfortunately only has eyes for Heather.

TikTok is full of sad kids singing along to lyrics that feel particularly painful and hit too close too home (I mean, have you seen the reaction to the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift?!).

The kids are not alright, I fear. And their heartbreak is all the more relatable.

Now people are hoping that December third treats them well and results in a movie-like love with someone giving them their sweater.

Gray himself has noticed the trend and made multiple TikToks acknowledging his song’s ties to December 3rd.

“still no sweater……,” he captioned his video from Wednesday.

So happy December 3rd to all those who celebrate! I’ll be singing along to “Heather” in my sweater all day... it’s what I deserve.