May the 4th Be With You: Happy Star Wars Day

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Star Wars fans unite today–May 4th–in honor of Star Wars Day. What is Star Wars Day, you might ask? The first mention of Star Wars Day occurred in 1979, reports starwars.com.

Here’s how author Alan Arnold (who chronicled the making of “The Empire Strikes Back” for Lucasfilm) describes the birth of Star Wars Day:

“Friday, May 4: Margaret Thatcher has won the election and become Britain’s first woman prime minister. To celebrate their victory her party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News. This message, referring to the day of victory, was ‘May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations,’ further proof of the extent to which Star Wars has influenced us all.”

Once the Internet allowed Star Wars fans around the world to connect with one another, May the 4th soon became a grassroots tradition each year, with fans online and offline proclaiming it ‘Star Wars Day.’

While May the 4th may be the official Star Wars Day, the month of May itself is pretty significant to Star Wars fans.

The six live-action movies of the Star Wars saga debuted in May, beginning with the original Star Wars on May 25, 1977. George Lucas’ birthday is May 14th and the popular Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World Resort typically open in the month of May.