National Star Wars Day
May the Force be with you on #NationalStarWarsDay
4 May is National Star Wars Day, a day created especially for all Star Wars enthusiasts to proclaim their love for the saga.
Say “May the fourth be with you” out loud and you will realise why today is National Star Wars Day – it is the worldwide day for all Star Wars fans to say “May the Force be with you” (see the pun there?) to everyone and celebrate the beloved story that binds our galaxy together.
The often used quote was not introduced by Star Wars fans. It was first used in 1979, when Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female Prime Minister. When she took office on 4 May, the Conservative Party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News to celebrate. What did this advertisement say? “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.”
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, was asked during a German television interview in 2005, to say the famous sentence, “May the Force be with you.” Upon doing so, the interpreter interpreted the sentence as “Am 4 Mai sand wir bei Ihmen” – literally meaning, “On 4 May we will be with you.” TV Total captured this and aired it on 18 May 2005.
Once Star Wars fans all around the globe were able to connect with each other through the internet, 4 May soon became an annual grassroots tradition and both online and offline fans proclaimed it Star Wars Day. Although the idea of this day did not start with Lucasfilm – the company that created the series – they have fully embraced the spirit of fandom that makes the day so special.
May kicks off a season of celebration, particularly since the month of May has always been important to fans. The six live action movies of the saga debuted in May (starting with the original Star Wars on 25 May 1977). The month also includes George Lucas’ birthday (14 May 1944).
This day was first organised at the Toronto Underground Cinema (Canada) in 2011. Produced by Sean Ward and Alice Quinn, festivities included an original trilogy trivia game show, costume contest as well as the web’s best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies and remixes on the big screen. 4 May was chosen because of the play on words.
To celebrate today, get together with all your Star Wars enthusiast friends and binge-watch all of the movies. Or, you can visit the following links, and check out some of the most watched videos on the internet:
Use #NationalStarWarsDay to post on social media.
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