04 May Star Wars Day: The Force Is Strong With This One

Have you ever wondered how ‘May The Fourth Be With You’ came about? Well, the phrase was coined thanks to the Iron Lady of the United Kingdom.

Margaret Thatcher won the elections in 1979 to become the first ever female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on the 4th of May, 1979. London Evening News, the local newspaper of the country, acted quick on their feet and published almost half a page advertisement congratulating Thatcher with the phrase; “May The Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.”

The first Stars Wars Movie (or, rather, the fourth), Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, released two years prior to Thatcher’s win was extremely popular among the masses, with their novel concept of intergalactic narrative and multiple languages. The date on the day of Thatcher’s win was ‘May, the 4th’ and resembled the pronunciation of the famous quote from the move, “May the force be with you”. Nobody could have guessed the impact of a simple, congratulatory message.

The Toronto Underground Cinema ran a film festival and a costume contest on the 4th of May, 2011, to celebrate the day as ‘Star Wars’ day. Soon after, various businesses caught up with the idea and produced events and merchandise to showcase the spirit of Star Wars on the 4th of May. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, May the 4th is celebrated as the ‘unofficial’ Star Wars day by fans all across the globe.

So, Happy Star Wars Day! May The Fourth Be With You.

Disheartened about being unable to learn a fictional language from Star Wars? Well, you can always learn a foreign language. Just as challenging, it is.