Star Wars Day 2018: May the fourth be with you too, but what does it mean?

Stop right here if you are a Trekkie fan! Welcome others to the land of Jar Jar Binks, Jabba the Hutt, Han Solo, R2D2, Princess Leia and C-3PO.

For the past seven years, the fourth day of May is recognized as the Star Wars Day. In 2018 sci-fi fans around the world picked this day themselves and celebrated their love for the George Lucas franchise. Ever since, this day has become a sort of a world fandom day for Star Wars.

There is no historical reason for 04 May to be chosen as the Star Wars Day, except for the pun on the catchphrase “May the Force be with you” as “May the Fourth be with you”. In the movies, the phrase is used to wish an individual(mostly Jedi to Jedi) good luck, signifying that they would have favour with The Force. On a much simplified philosophical level, Star Wars is essentially a constant dilemma between the Dark Side and The Force, the good and the bad.

Some fans also take this reference back to 1979, just two years after the release of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The British Conservative Party, which was celebrating the election of Margaret Thatcher as their Prime Minister put out a full-page ad in the London Evening News, which apparently read “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.”

In 2008, the first Facebook group appeared, which celebrated Luke Skywalker Day, with the same catchphrase. Though the initial group did not receive much acclaim, the phenomenon eventually spread to college campuses a few years later, and Star Wars Day was born.

In 2011, the first organized celebration of Star Wars Day took place in Toronto, Canada. The celebration included festivities like an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show, a costume contest with celebrity judges, the web’s best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies, and remixes. It was only eventually that the day was embraced by Lucasfilm as an annual celebration of Star Wars.

Sadly, this year marks the first since the death of actress Carrie Fisher, who played the iconic role of Princess Leia in the films.

This year, Star Wars Day celebrations are at its peak worldwide. While a doughnut shop in Arizona is designing their doughnuts after a galaxy far, far away, a fandom website is selling official Luke Skywalker boots for $305.

Meanwhile, there is a group called the 501st Legion, which is making all the noise on this day. It is an international group of Star Wars enthusiasts who dress in full costume and raise money for charity.

The Heathrow airport too has a very special way of celebrating the day, and kudos to them for that.

And then of course there is the millennial way of celebrating anything — social media.

This Star Wars Day is kind of special because it’s arriving just before the next film to hit the big screen, the young Han Solo tale Solo: A Star Wars Story. The movie is scheduled to hit the theaters by 25 May.

Happy Star Wars Day, may it be!