The “Money Bags Calendar” – not so special after all!
A meme that has been circulating – forever it seems – on the internet in various forms, proclaims that this December is special because it has “five Saturdays, five Sundays, and five Mondays,” a phenomenon that occurs only once every 823 years. The meme also connects it to riches that “will surprise you,” but only if the message is shared or sent to “all your friends.”
It turns out though that this December isn’t so special after all. The supposedly “fortuitous” pattern described happens every time December ends on a Monday. Unfortunately, this is a share left over from a previous year, likely 2018. December 2019, ending on a Tuesday, only has 4 Saturdays, but it does have 5 Tuesdays to go with the 5 Sundays and Mondays.
The next time that December has five Saturdays, five Sundays, and five Mondays will be in 2029, just a mere 11 years after that last time, hardly an unusual phenomenon. On average, December ends on a Monday about every 11 years. Throwing leap years into the mix produces a pattern of 11-6-5-6. That is, when December ends on Monday, that event occurs again eleven years later, then six years after that, then five years later, and finally, another six years lapses, whereupon the cycle repeats.
Not so special after all.
