May The Fourth Be With You
Star Wars Day
Technically speaking there are two dates which earn the honour of being called Star Wars Day. Ironically both are in May. May 25th was named Star Wars Day by the LA city council to honour the anniversary of of the 1977 release of Episode IV: A New Hope, better known simply as "Star Wars". Fans however thought that May 4th was a more fitting date for what seemed like an obvious reason, and May 4th is the date most people traditionally refer to as Star Wars Day.
The reason for the date of May 4th is simple, a line oft heard in the saga is "May the force be with you", some humour impaired fan punned this to become "May the Fourth be with you", thus Star Wars Day was born.
The History of Star Wars Day
Above I stated that some fan came up with the pun, but alas us geeks are rarely that creative, in fact the first time any mention of the "May the fourth be with you" came from the party office of Margaret Thatcher when she was elected on May the 4th, 1979 and an ad was placed stating "May the Fourth be with you Maggie. Congratulations.". While some noted the pun it went relatively unnoticed by Star Wars fans.
In 2005 a German TV station had a minor slip up translating an interview with George Lucas who stated "May the force be with you", they translated this as "Am 4. Mai sind wir bei Ihnen ('We shall be with you on May 4')".
May the 4th didn't fully take off until 2011 when the Toronto Underground Film Festival hosted the first Star Wars Day celebration in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Star Wars Day In The News
- Walt Disney World celebrates 'Star Wars Day' with 'May the Fourth Be With You' - National Disney Tra
On April 26, Walt Disney World Resort announced a special "Limited Time Magic" event themed to "Star Wars." "May the Fourth Be With You" will take place at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 4. - May The 4th Be With You
Regularly updated Star Wars Day news, deals, special events, fan photos, and activities. May the 4th be with you! - Star Wars Day Toronto