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Internet Culture

Rigatoni Day: TikTokers everywhere celebrate made-up holiday after some guy on the internet tells them to

76 million views later, Gen Z’s favorite platform forges a new holiday.

Photo of Michelle Brandabur

Michelle Brandabur

Screenshots from a countdown of one user on TikTok celebrating Rigatoni Day.

Users across TikTok celebrated Rigatoni Day on May 24, a holiday willed into existence by one TikToker last year calling for everyone on the platform to enjoy a bowl of the classic pasta on the same day.

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Jimmy Rules, @jimmyrules32, first posted about it on Jan. 14, 2020, and created a foodie phenomenon across TikTok as users big and small made the pasta to celebrate the holiday.

Another account on TikTok, @rigatonipastacountdown, is dedicated entirely to counting down to May 24 in recognition of rigatoni pasta. The account first started posting on May 27, 2020, and has continued every day since.

“This is your one day reminder to eat a bowl of rigatoni pasta on May 24, 2021,” a recent video reads.

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https://www.tiktok.com/@rigatonipastacountdown/video/6965540874667265285?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6896324995211855365

Uploaded on Rigatoni Day, or Monday, the video received over 1.1 million views and 233,400 likes as users were excited to celebrate the holiday and dig into a bowl of pasta.

Users on TikTok were also using the hashtag #eatabowlofrigatonipastaonmay242021 to spread the word across the app with over 76.8 million views of the tag in total.

Creator Khabane Lame, @khaby.lame, uploaded a video on Saturday explaining how to celebrate in paid partnership with Barilla, an enormous supermarket pasta brand.

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In the video, Lame highlighted a Rigatoni Day countdown fast-forwarding to May 24. The video gained over 14.6 million views and 954,600 likes and featured a soundtrack called Funky Rigatoni created by Barilla TikTokers.

https://www.tiktok.com/@khaby.lame/video/6964771050815032582?sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6896324995211855365&is_from_webapp=v1&is_copy_url=0

The sound was used across the platform with 7,421 videos playing it as TikTokers explained how they planned to make the most of Rigatoni Day.

While many users uploaded videos of themselves cooking rigatoni to celebrate the day, some questioned more about the origins of the holiday and why many users on the internet had decided to join in.

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“Some guy on the internet two years ago told us to eat rigatoni on May 24, 2021, for literally no reason, and we listened?” user @www.lydia.org asked in a TikTok.

Said video, uploaded on Monday, has over 3.3 million views and 817,300 likes as many users were passionate about celebrating the holiday on behalf of TikTok foodies everywhere.

https://www.tiktok.com/@www.lydia.org/video/6965870901082606853?sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6896324995211855365&is_from_webapp=v1&is_copy_url=0

“They said not to trust strangers on the internet yet here we are,” Lydia captioned the video.

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In the comments, users shared their experiences making rigatoni.

“I’m making it as we speak don’t worry,” another user added.

Others, feeling satisfied with the meal, announced the day will become an annual tradition in their household.

“I’m going to be doing it every year now,” one user wrote.

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