What Is October 1 on TikTok? Why the Day Is Important

The Gist:

• October 1 is trending on TikTok in connection with girl in red’s “we fell in love in october.”
• The trend is about the coming of fall, and particularly about falling in love in the fall.
• Songs by girl in red have long been popular on TikTok, particularly in the queer community.

The advent of the fall comes with many things: cooler temperatures, pumpkin spice, Halloween, and lots and lots of flannel. On top of all that, though, it now also comes with TikTok trends that are precisely designed to celebrate the new season’s arrival.

While there have been plenty of days trending on TikTok over the course of its history, the latest day trending on the platform is trending in large part because the people who are posting about it simply can’t wait to start celebrating fall. Here’s everything you need to know about why videos about October 1 have earned more than 7 billion views on TikTok.

October 1 is trending in large part because people are using the date as a signifier for the arrival of fall. While there are other fall days that have held this mantle over the years, including September 21, this year, TikTok users have decided that October 1 is the day to celebrate fall.

In particular, the trend involves setting your video to the song “we fell in love in october” by girl in red.

The song’s chorus has become a focal point for these videos, in part because of its chorus, which includes the lyrics. “My girl, my girl, my girl / You will be my girl / My girl, my girl, my girl / You will be my world / My world, my world, my world / You will be my girl.”

This simple chorus has left many in the mood for love, whether that means posting a tribute to your girlfriend or pining for the kind of relationship that would inspire these kinds of lyrics.

It’s a wonderful confluence of two persistent trends on TikTok, one focused on the fall and the other focused on relationships. Of course, some people are also using the song to express their excitement for other elements of fall, whether that means the clothes or the decor.

The song is wistful all on its own, but girl in red has long had a special place in the heart of many TikTok users.

Although “we fell in love in october” has reached incredibly high heights, it’s not the first time that girl in red has had a song featured in a prominent TikTok trend. Marie Ulven, the woman behind the songs, has long had a devoted following particularly in the queer community on the platform.

In fact, girl in red was so popular that she was an opener for Taylor Swift on a leg of the Eras Tour, a designation that likely only made this TikTok trend feel more inevitable.