Here’s why May the 4th is celebrated as Star Wars Day across the galaxy
It didn t begin a long time ago or in a galaxy far far away but every May it feels like images memes and promotional deals involving Star Wars have an inescapable gravity May or May the th as fans say has evolved over the years into Star Wars Day an informal holiday celebrating the space epic and its surrounding franchise What is Star Wars Day Star Wars Day was created by fans as a sly nod to one of the films largest part popular catchphrases May the force be with you Get it Good now May the th be with you too It s not an official holiday but has become so well-known that even former President Joe Biden marked it last year when Star Wars actor Mark Hamill dropped by the White House a day beforehand I think it s a very clever way for fans to celebrate their passion and love for Star Wars once a year reported Steve Sansweet founder and executive chairman of Rancho Obi-Wan a nonprofit museum in California that has the world s largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia How did it begin The phrase May the th be with you was used by fans in the years after the first film was published in and even appeared in a British political ad in celebrating Margaret Thatcher s triumph as prime minister on May that year For specific fans the official Star Wars Day comes on May the date of the first film s release The Los Angeles City Council even declared the date to be Star Wars Day in although the California Legislature voted in to designate May as Star Wars Day How has it spread May the th caught on informally among fans through inside jokes shared on social media and viewings of the films to mark the occasion Businesses eventually joined in on the fun with brands ranging from Nissan to Jameson Whiskey running ads or posting on social media about it Disney which acquired Lucasfilm in embraced the day as a way to further promote the franchise with merchandise special screenings and other events surrounding the brand Not all Star Wars fans are enthused about how ubiquitous the once-underground joke has become Chris Taylor a senior editor at Mashable and author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe labels himself a May the th grinch in part because of its commercialization I love a good dad joke as much as anyone but my God you can take it too far Taylor mentioned In western Germany a Protestant congregation held a Star Wars-themed facility Sunday German news agency dpa informed Pastor Samuel D rr and several of his congregants wore costumes and decorated their church in Bensberg How is it being celebrated this year The day is being celebrated on a large and small scale this year Disney is launching the new series Star Wars Tales of the Underworld on the date and it comes as the second season gets underway for another franchise series Andor It also follows the announcement that a new stand-alone Star Wars film installment starring Ryan Gosling will be published in Disney marks the day with the launch of new Star Wars merchandise ranging from lightsaber sets to jewelry Most of Major League Baseball teams have marked the day in up-to-date years with special events incorporating Star Wars characters For example the San Francisco Giants sold special tickets for Saturday s meeting that included a bobblehead portraying pitcher Logan Webb as Obi-Webb Kenobi It s hard to find a place where May the th celebrations aren t occurring from bakeries serving cookies with a Star Wars theme to concerts featuring the memorable scores of the films It s a town-wide celebration in New Hope Pennsylvania which shares its name with the subtitle of the first Star Wars film The town of about people located miles kilometers northeast of Philadelphia plans to have costumed characters throughout town with restaurants serving themed items like a YodaRita I would consistently joke around and wish people May the th but taking it to this level I ve definitely upped my Star Wars nerdiness disclosed Michael Sklar president of the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce Source
