''Star Wars'' Day is an informal

commemorative day Lists of holidays by various categorizations. Religious holidays Abrahamic holidays (Middle Eastern) Jewish holidays *Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread – 7 days of consumption of matzo with wine and avoidance of leavened foods ...

observed annually on May4 to celebrate the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

created by founder, former chairman and CEO of

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

. Observance of the day spread quickly through media and

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

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 The Force is a metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Force", matching their personal will ...

". 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 is also celebrated as

Geek Pride Day Geek Pride Day is an initiative to promote geek culture, celebrated annually on May 25. The initiative originated in Spain in 2006 as ( es, Día del orgullo friki) and spread around the world via the Internet. Origins Tim McEachern organized ...

History

The first recorded reference of the phrase being used was on May 4, 1979, 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 The ''London Evening News'' was a newspaper whose first issue was published on 14 August 1855. Usually, when people mention the ''London Evening News'', they are actually referring to '' The Evening News'', published in London from 1881 to 1980, ...

'' 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 phrase was used in a UK Parliament defence debate on May 4, 1994. Astrophysicist and author

Jeanne Cavelos Jeanne Cavelos (born May 26, 1960 in Summit, New Jersey) is an American science fiction writer, editor, and former NASA astrophysicist. She is the founder and a main director of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. She is the author of ''The Science of ...

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 (even government officials, such as Boris Johnson) have celebrated ''Star Wars'' in a variety of ways in social media and on television. Major League Baseball, association football, and college sports teams have paid tribute to Star Wars in different ways. Minor League Baseball teams such as the Toledo Mud Hens and the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

have worn special uniforms as part of ''Star Wars'' Day promotions. On ''Star Wars'' Day 2015, astronauts in the International Space Station watched ''Star Wars''. Also in 2015, the carillon bells inside the

Peace Tower The Peace Tower (french: link=no, Tour de la Paix) is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower af ...

on Parliament Hill in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada played " The Imperial March" theme from ''Star Wars'', among other space-related tunes.

Official celebrations

Since 2013, The Walt Disney Company has officially observed the holiday with several ''

'' 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. The second official trailer for ''

Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...

'' was officially released on May 4, 2022 as well as '' Disney Gallery: The Book of Boba Fett''.

Additional dates

Revenge of the Fifth/Sixth

Some recognize the day after, May 5, as "Revenge of the Fifth", a play on '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' and 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.

May 25

In honor of the 30th anniversary release date of ''Star Wars'' on May 25, 1977, the Los Angeles City Council declared May 25, 2007 as ''Star Wars'' Day. A separate initiative for observing

on May 25 is based on the ''Star Wars'' connection along with ties to '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (

Towel Day Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans. On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Adams' ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', to demonstrate their appreciat ...

) and '' Discworld''. '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' was also released on May 25, 2018, 41 years after the original ''Star Wars''.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Unofficial observances Star Wars fandom Puns May observances Recurring events established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ontario