May the 4th is official titled “Star Wars Day”. It is an informal commemorative day to celebrate the franchise.
Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about this day.
- Star Wars Day is an informal commemorative day
- It is observed annually on May 4
- The day is to celebrate the Star Wars media franchise
- The media franchise was created by founder and former chairman and CEO of Lucasfilm, George Lucas
- Observance of the day spread quickly through media and grassroots celebrations since the franchise began in 1977
- The date originated from the pun “May the Fourth be with you”, a variant of the popular Star Wars catchphrase “May the Force be with you”
- Even though the holiday was not created or declared by Lucasfilm
- Many Star Wars fans around the world have chosen to celebrate the holiday
- It has since been embraced by Lucasfilm and parent company Disney as an annual celebration of Star Wars
- Additionally, the release date of the original Star Wars movie on May 25, 1977
- It is also celebrated as Geek Pride Day
- The first recorded reference of the phrase being used was on May 4, 1979
- This was the day after Margaret Thatcher was elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Her political party, the Conservatives, placed a congratulatory advertisement in the London Evening News saying “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations”
- In the 1988 episode of Count Duckula, “The Vampire Strikes Back”, a space-faring superhero, Tremendous Terrance, asks Duckula the date and is told, “May the Fourth”
- As Terrance departs, he tells all below, “May the Fourth Be with You”
- The saying was used in a UK Parliament defence debate on May 4, 1994
- Astrophysicist and author Jeanne Cavelos used the saying on page 94 of her 1999 book The Science of Star Wars
- In 2008, the first Facebook groups appeared, celebrating Luke Skywalker Day, with the same catchphrase
- In 2011, the first organized celebration of Star Wars Day took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Toronto Underground Cinema
- Produced by Sean Ward and Alice Quinn, festivities included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show
- A costume contest with celebrity judges
- And the web’s best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies, and remixes on the big screen
- The second annual edition took place on Friday, May 4, 2012
- Fans have celebrated Star Wars in a variety of ways in social media and on television
- Minor League baseball teams such as the Toledo Mud Hens and the Durham Bulls have worn special uniforms as part of Star Wars Day promotions
- Even government officials, such as Boris Johnson
- On Star Wars Day 2015, astronauts in the International Space Station watched Star Wars
- Also in 2015, the carillon bells inside the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada played “The Imperial March” theme from Star Wars, among other space-related tunes
- Since 2013, The Walt Disney Company has officially observed the holiday with several Star Wars events and festivities at Disneyland and Walt Disney World
- Disney had purchased Lucasfilm, including the rights to Star Wars, in late 2012
- The finale of The Clone Wars was made available on Disney+ on May 4, 2020
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as well as the documentary series Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, were also made available on Disney+ the same day
- The animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch also premiered on Disney+ on Star Wars Day in 2021
- Some recognize the day after, May 5, as “Revenge of the Fifth”
- This is a play on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
- The day is to celebrate the Sith Lords and other villainous characters from the Star Wars series rather than the Jedi
- Others celebrate this one day later, on May 6, citing “Revenge of the Sixth” as a better play on “Sith”
- While others refer to the 6th as “Return of the 6th” as a play on Return of the Jedi and the trilogy aspect of the Star Wars films
- In honor of the 30th anniversary release date of Star Wars on May 25th, 1977, the Los Angeles City Council declared May 25, 2007 as Star Wars Day
