Origin of “May the 4th be with you”

Today is the fourth of May and officiallyStar Wars day of the year, which, unlike the last, will also year of star wars with the premiere of Obi-Wan. Despite many fans of the saga celebrating George Lucas Franchise Day on May 4th, the original slogan actually had little to do with the most famous movie, comic book, book and video game saga of all time officially.

turns out May the 4th be with you, the keynote, if I may use the expression that marks this day, was not meant for Star Wars as it was nearly 10 years since the expression was first used before it made its way into Star Wars popular culture. In this sense, the reference “May the 4th be with you” was first used in 1979. when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom not Star Wars Day.

It is the members of the conservative political party, through congratulations to the newly appointed Prime Minister from the United Kingdom on the London Evening News for the first time used this expression with the slogan “May the Fourth be with you, Maggie”. Congratulations”. Of course, the fact that Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope premiered two years earlier tells us where the guys from the Conservative and Unionist Party got the idea for their congratulations to Mrs. Thatcher:

“Margaret Thatcher won the election and became the first female British Prime Minister. To celebrate her victory, her party took up half a page of advertising space on the London Evening News. You, Maggie, are further proof of how much Star Wars has affected all of us.”

And how did Thatcher’s congratulations from the British Conservative become the quintessence of the day for geeks around the world? Lightweight, popular culture was doing its job well, and just a few years after the catchphrase of Thatcher’s colleagues, it was already being diligently used.

However, it was in 2011 that the first official Star Wars Day celebration took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which at the time was produced by Sean Ward and Alice Quinn. officially associated with the slogan May the 4th be with you into the Star Wars universe with the support of Lucasfilm, although logically this was done, since this reference has long been used among fans of the saga to celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4th of each year.

The most curious thing is that the Fourth of May is not the only Star Wars day that many fans of the franchise celebrate, since if power has its own special day for Jedi around the world (just today), the dark side also has its own. When? so the next day. It turns out that since the release of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith in 2005, Star Wars fans have been celebrating May 5 as May 5 Revenge of the fifth.

Let the force be with you!