Star Wars fans from all galaxies will be celebrating the iconic franchise’s biggest day of the year today.
May 4th, often known as “May the Fourth Be With You,” is a day set aside to honor everything Star Wars.
The expression “May the force be with you,” used by Jedi masters in the films, is what gave rise to Star Wars Day, which is indeed celebrated on the assonant date every year.
However, few know that the origins of this particular celebration stem from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Although the well-known saying was first used as a flip-flop in 1978 to wish people a happy Fourth of July, it was on the following year, when the Iron Lady won the election to become Britain’s first female prime minister, that May 4th became the fandom’s unofficial holiday.
“May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie” was the slogan used by her own Conservative party in a half-page advertising that appeared in The London Evening News on May 4, 1979, to commemorate her triumph.
The cinematic celebration was unofficially observed for decades until 2019, when California lawmakers voted to declare May 4 Star Wars Day in honor of the opening of Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge.
Since “May the 4th Be With You” doesn’t translate well into other languages, the name “Star Wars Day” has been adopted to give the yearly worldwide celebration a global – or rather, universal – meaning.
