May the 4th: How was International Star Wars Day established?  

Star Wars fans celebrate it every year but do we know when it started?

Every year on May 4th , Star Wars fans around the world celebrate their love for the iconic sci-fi series with the slogan ” May the Fourth be with you “. But what are the origins of this unofficial holiday and how did it become so popular?

The phrase ” May the Fourth be with you ” is a clever pun on the famous Star Wars line “May the Force be with you”, which is often said by characters in the Star Wars universe and mostly we hear it from Jedi or characters who believe in the existence of the Force.

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The first recorded use of the phrase was in 1979, when the UK Conservative Party congratulated Margaret Thatcher on her election victory with a newspaper advertisement that read “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations “. However, the phrase is said to have started to be heard in 1978, about a year after the release of the first film, “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”, and in the summer of that year several newspapers cleverly used the phrase in celebration of 4th of July, where the Independence Day of the USA is celebrated.

With the advent of the internet and social media, Star Wars Day has become a widespread phenomenon among fans. In 2008, the first Facebook groups appeared, celebrating Luke Skywalker Day with the same slogan. In 2011, the first organized celebration of Star Wars Day was held in Toronto, Canada, with trivia games, costume contests, and fan films. Since then, Star Wars Day has been adopted by Lucasfilm and Disney, the owners of the franchise, as the annual celebration of Star Wars culture.

What’s out this year? 

In celebration of Star Wars Day 2023, Disney is releasing the new cycle of Star Wars: Visions episodes , with “Vol. 2” bringing 9 brand new and unique visual stories from the universe. Another animated series debuts today and it’s Young Jedi Adventures , aimed at younger ages. There’s also a short film coming out called “Maggie Simpson in Rogue Not Quite One “, where Hommer and Marge Simpson’s young daughter takes Baby Yoda/Grogu’s floating stroller and gets lost in a galaxy far, far away. 

All three are available starting today, May 4, on Disney Plus.