Why is 3 October known as Mean Girls Day?

‘Happy Mean Girls Day everyone. Stay fetch!!!’

To the uninitiated, the third of October is just another drizzly autumn day.

But for fans of the 2004 cult comedy Mean Girls, the date conjures up all sorts of fuzzy feelings of Noughties nostalgia.

In one of the film's most memorable scenes, Lindsay Lohan‘s character, Cady Heron, recalls being in the classroom daydreaming about her high school crush, Aaron Samuels, played by Jonathan Bennett.

Looking at him lovingly, Cady looks thrilled when Aaron turns to speak to her, thinking this could be the start of their flourishing romance. In fact, he simply wanted to know the date.

“On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was.” Cady recalls. “It’s October 3rd,” she replies, too excited about the exchange to notice that the topic could not have been more mundane.

What may seem like a throwaway scene during a first watch of the film has become one of its most memorable quotes, so much so that 3 October is unofficially regarded around the world as “Mean Girls Day“.

Today, Twitter and Instagram have become flooded with posts and memes dedicated to the film, the majority of which include screenshots, gifs and videos of the aforementioned scene.

The official Twitter account for Mean Girls, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, joined in the celebrations.

“Yeah, #October3rd is a pretty huge deal. #MeanGirlsDay,” the tweet reads.

Others marked the occasion by tweeting other quotes from the film.

“It’s October 3rd. Happy Mean Girls day everyone. Stay fetch!!!” one person tweeted, in reference to character Gretchen Wiener’s (played by Lacey Chabert) proclivity for the word “fetch” in the film.

Actor Mariah Rose Faith, who is currently playing Regina George in the Broadway adaptation of the film, expressed her excitement over celebrating Mean Girls Day while starring in the production.

“It’s my first Mean Girls Day where I’m in Mean Girls hehe happy October 3rd!” she wrote.

Earlier this year, a restaurant in London celebrated the 15th anniversary of Mean Girls by launching a limited-edition pink menu inspired by the film.