Star Wars Day: birth and curiosities about the Star Wars party

Star Wars Day

Every year, punctual as the outbreak of the Death Star, the time comes to proudly celebrate one's dispassionate love for Star Wars, joining the worldwide celebration of the distant galaxy set for May 4th. A date that in recent years has been accompanied by parades, events and rituals that honor the universe created by George Lucas. Although it has only become famous in recent years, Star Wars Day, accompanied by the motto 'May the 4th be with you', is the evolution of a need born since the dawn of the saga: to create a sharing event among fans.

From politics to the faraway galaxy

It seems incredible, but, in a sort of retaliation law, it was common life that influenced the choice of this anniversary. Since the release of A New Hope, back in 1977, the world of Star Wars has profoundly marked modern culture, thanks to its characters and phrases that have been accepted in common language. One above all? May the Force be with you, the wish that the Jedi and those who felt similar to them used to recite as a good omen.

And it is precisely this phrase that gave birth, albeit indirectly, to Star Wars Day and its motto.

As Alan Arnold recounts in his Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, the impact that the first Star Wars film had on the collective imagination was incredible, even influencing unsuspected personalities, such as politicians.| ); }
Two years after the release of A New Hope, while Lucas and his companions were already working on The Empire Strikes Back, elections were held in the United Kingdom. Those of 1979 were important votes for the British, who made a choice that had a fundamental impact for the nation in the following decade. The outcome of the polls rewarded Conservative candidate Margareth Thatcher, the first woman to enter 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister.

The event was of great significance, to the point that her own party decided to celebrate this event by purchasing a full page in the London Evening News featuring an encouraging headline

“May the 4th be with you, Maggie. Congratulations "| th_culturapop_d_mh3 "); } The most obvious reference was to the date of May 4th, the day of installation of Lady Thatcher at the official residence of the Prime Minister, which would have sanctioned the beginning of her mandate. But what does Star Wars have to do with it?

Step back, let's go back to May the Force be with you. In English, the motto of the Jedi is May the Force be with you. It becomes easy, noting the assonance between Force and Fourth (fourth, since in English the days are identified with the cardinal numbers), to understand how dieto the wish Lady Thatcher had the hand of a Star Wars fan, or of someone who had adopted phrases from the popular saga into their lexical repertoire.

And curiously, this Star Wars quote also returned to British politics later on. Although Lady Thatcher and her entourage never publicly commented on this connection between the wish and Lucas' film, years later other members of Albion politics referred to this event.

In 1994, during a discussion on security at the House of Commons, politician Harry Cohen enriched his speech by referring to Star Wars:

“May the 4th is an appropriate date for a debate on defense. My researcher, quite a peculiar fellow, said it should be called National Star Wars Day. He was talking about the Star Wars movie, rather than President Reagan's imaginative defensive strategy and added 'May the Force be with you'. It's a joke in bad taste, he deserves to be fired if he wasn't a very good researcher "


Boris Johnson made fewer problems, when in 2012 he celebrated his re-election as mayor of Londa by closing his inauguration speech with the famous phrase of Star Wars. A choice that paid off, as Johnson went on to win the elections as Prime Minister years later!

From the homage to the official anniversary

Going beyond the political question, how did it come to Star Wars Day? The first step was to acknowledge the wish to Lady Thatcher as a confirmation of the importance of Star Wars in ordinary life. What was a science fiction film had become a real phenomenon of costume, capable of being appreciated even in areas that usually would not be associated with a fandom.

But the Star Wars fandom certainly could not let it escape such an opportunity.

In 2011, the Toronto Underground Cinema decided to create a review dedicated to Star Wars, mindful of this event, in which to screen films and allow fans to meet and share your passion. What seemed like a convention became the starting point for the evolution of Star Wars Day. Later on, even clubs and amusement parks began to dedicate events in homage to Star Wars on May 4th.



This was also done in the Disney parks, well before the Mickey Mouse house acquired the rights to Star Wars. Once the historic transition took place, what was a spontaneous and unofficial event was transformed from one of the best and most profitable marketing machines into a global event, making Star Wars Day official.

This step has not only gave fans an official date for everyone to feel part of the Star Wars galaxy, but it allowed Disney to give this anniversary more prominence. In concomitance with Star Wars Day, in fact, prestigious collaborations have been made, such as R2-D2 which collaborates with the N.A.S.A. or the astronauts on the International Space Station who celebrate Star Wars Day by watching the films of the saga.

Just watching @starwars. In space. No big deal. #StarWarsDay # Maythe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/iG7Pn0Fvj6

- ISS Research (@ISS_Research) May 4, 2015

The Festival of the Sith

But if May the 4th be with you consecrates Star Wars Day, the following days have become an opportunity to extend the celebrations.



In fact, May the 5th and 6th are the villains of the saga celebrated, thanks to a new pun. The English title of the last chapter of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, is Revenge of the Sith, which fans wanted to use to transform it into Revenge of the Sixth, the perfect opportunity to highlight the charismatic shady characters who stand in the way of the heroes. of Star Wars.

If you want to celebrate Star Wars Day in the best possible way, what better way to review the saga with the Skywalker Saga box set?