Topics: Explained, Food and Drink, Holiday, Life, Reddit, Social Media, US News
We're just one day away from Thanksgiving, and it's clear many Americans are amping up for a big day ahead indeed.
Whether it's gathering with your loved ones to share a big ole roast turkey, taking time to express your gratitude for your many blessings or tuning into all the watching parades, it's safe to say that Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays Stateside.
However, while many can agree on the festivities of such an occasion, others have been left seriously baffled over the actual date the annual holiday takes place on, with many pointing to an eerie Mandela Effect theory.
Now, in case you need your internet lingo brushing up on, the Mandela Effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people collectively share a false memory about a past event or detail.
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The term was coined by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome, who discovered many people falsely remembered Nelson Mandela dying in prison during the 1980s, when he was actually released and later became president of South Africa before he died in 2013.
Other famous examples include misremembering Darth Vader saying, 'Luke, I am your father' instead of 'No, I am your father,' in Star Wars and believing the Monopoly Man wears a monocle when he never has.
Other common examples are the spelling of 'The Berenstain Bears' (often misremembered as "Berenstein") and the Fruit of the Loom logo supposedly containing a cornucopia (it does not).
And the date of Thanksgiving has officially been added to the list after one Reddit user took to the social media platform to explain: "I made a video on TikTok a couple of weeks ago asking people who remember Thanksgiving falling on the third Thursday to think of a specific date they can remember celebrating Thanksgiving in the past and post it in the comments."
Out of 9,000+ comments, almost everyone cited dates between the 22nd and 28th, which are all fourth Thursdays. There were only a small handful naming dates like the 21st.
"Meaning almost everybody remembered dates that were actually on the 4th Thursday, despite believing that it’s 'always been' the third Thursday," the Redditor continued, adding: "Meaning, despite so many people actually celebrating the holiday on the 4th Thursday, they still 'vividly remember' it being the third Thursday."
They went on to note just how 'interesting' the phenomenon was.
"People remember the mnemonic device, which is wrong, over their own lived experiences. Thanksgiving is one of the most documented days of the year. The busiest shopping day of the year is the day after, the busiest travel day of the year is the Sunday after. People take photos (which have metadata), travel, shop, and get time off work, all of which have receipts. This should be so easy to disprove, yet so many people will cling to this 'third Thursday' belief despite having never once celebrated Thanksgiving on the 15th of November," the Redditor noted.
They added: "Then there’s the other people. The ones that claim crazy stuff like 'Thanksgiving is always the third Thursday, but people get confused because sometimes November has 4 weeks and sometimes it only has 3'.
"How can a month with 30 days only have 3 weeks?! Someone in the comments told me they remember it being the 18-24, which would be both third and fourth Thursdays.
"I’m convinced many people will cling to a belief (like the holiday being on the third Thursday) until they’re corrected, and a lot of people will double down over embarrassment of having been wrong. And some just don’t understand how calendars or basic math work."
It didn't take long for people to rush to the comments to share their thoughts on the matter with one Reddit user writing: "It’s always been the 4th Thursday as far as I remember, but you also have to consider when the month starts… if the first day of the month is on a Thursday then the holiday falls earlier in the moth than if the first day of the month is on a Friday."
A second chimed in: "I think this is part of the problem. When the month starts on a Thursday, then Thanksgiving is the 22nd, and we have a whole 8 days until December starts. Months like last year and this year, Thanksgiving is closer to the end of the month, and you only get a day or two until December starts, making people feel like they missed a week."
"Exactly - It’s sort an illusion of time!" agreed a third.
A fourth disagreed: "Does anyone remember Thanksgiving being the third Thursday of November? Always was third for me! My birthday is even on Thanksgiving from time to time, and I remember my mom explaining the third Thursday."
"Thanksgiving for me has ALWAYS been on the 3rd Thursday of November. Except, on the calendar, Thanksgiving is and has always been on the last Thursday. Maybe it was always the 3rd full week vs 3rd Thursday," commented a fifth.
Another echoed: "I must be missing something here because I thought Thanksgiving was always on the 3rd Thursday of November?"
And a final Redditor pleaded: "If someone is willing to double down on Third Thursday Thanksgiving to the point they are willing to claim a month only has 3 weeks in it, I want to know what mechanisms cause that because when I want to talk..."
