Star Wars Day - wikipedia Star Wars Day `` May the 4th '' redirects here. For general information on this date, see May 4. Star Wars Day Fan - made animated logo, dedicated to Star Wars Day. Observed by Star Wars fans Type Secular Significance Celebrating Star Wars Date May 4 Frequency Annual First time 2011 Related to Geek Pride Day Star Wars Day, May 4, celebrates George Lucas ' Star Wars. It is observed by fans of the media franchise. Observance of the holiday spread quickly through media and grassroots celebrations. The date was chosen for the pun on the catchphrase `` May the Force be with you '' as `` May the Fourth be with you ''. Even though the holiday was not actually created or declared by Lucasfilm, many Star Wars fans across the world have chosen to celebrate the holiday. It has since been embraced by Lucasfilm as an annual celebration of Star Wars. Contents 1 History 2 Revenge of the Sith Day 3 May 25 4 References 5 External links History Apocryphally, the reference was first used on May 4, 1979, the day Margaret Thatcher took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. An online news article from the Danish public broadcaster says her political party, the Conservatives, placed a congratulatory advertisement in The London Evening News, saying `` May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations. '' The saying was used in a UK Parliament defence debate on May 4th 1994. Astrophysicist and author Jeanne Cavelos used the saying on page 94 of her 1999 book The Science of Star Wars. In 2008, the first Facebook groups appeared, celebrating Luke Skywalker Day, with the same catchphrase. While the initial group never received widespread acclaim, the phenomenon 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, Ontario, Canada at the Toronto Underground Cinema. Produced by Sean Ward and Alice Quinn, festivities included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show ; a costume contest with celebrity judges ; and the web 's best tribute films, mash - ups, parodies, and remixes on the big screen. The second annual edition took place on Friday, May 4, 2012. Fans ( even government officials ) have celebrated Star Wars in a variety of ways in social media and on television. Since 2013, The Walt Disney Company has officially observed the holiday with several Star Wars events and festivities at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Disney had purchased Lucasfilm including the rights to Star Wars in late 2012. Minor League baseball teams such as the Toledo Mud Hens and the Durham Bulls have worn special uniforms as part of Star Wars Day promotions. On Star Wars Day 2015, astronauts in the International Space Station watched Star Wars. Revenge of the Sith Day Some recognize the following day, May 5, as `` Revenge of the Fifth '', a play on Star Wars : Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith and celebrate the Sith Lords from the Star Wars series rather than the Jedi. Others celebrate this one day later, on May 6, citing `` Revenge of the Sixth '' as a better play on `` Sith ''. May 25 The Los Angeles City Council declared May 25, 2007, as Star Wars Day, in honor of the 30th anniversary release date of Star Wars. A separate initiative for observing Geek Pride Day on May 25 is based on the Star Wars connection along with ties to The Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy ( Towel Day ) and Discworld. References Jump up ^ cady Gray Painter ( May 4, 2009 ). `` May the Fourth Be With You ''. NBCUniversalMedia, LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Star Wars day : May the 4th be with you ''. My Fox Chattanooga. May 4, 2010. Archived from the original on May 8, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Star Wars Day : May the 4th ''. Starwars.com. Retrieved May 3, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Danish National Radio on - line news ''. Jump up ^ `` Hansard, Column 786 ''. UK Parliament Hansard, Column 784. May 4, 1994. Jump up ^ * Jeanne Cavelos ( May 5, 2000 ). `` The science of Star Wars ''. ISBN 978 - 0312263874. Jump up ^ * Dylan Bates ( April 30, 2008 ). `` Luke Skywalker Day : May the Fourth ''. Facebook. Retrieved May 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Evan Annett ( May 4, 2015 ). `` Star Wars Day : What 's going on today in a galaxy not so far, far away ''. The Globe and Mail. `` May the Fourth Be With You ''. Global News. `` It 's Star Wars Day ! May the 4th Be With You ''. O.canada.com. Jump up ^ `` Boris Johnson 's acceptance speech in full ''. ITV News. May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Jump up ^ `` May the 4th Be with You ! ''. Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved April 28, 2013. `` May the Fourth Be With You ! Two New Star Wars - Themed Character Dining Experiences May 4 -- June 15 at Disney 's Hollywood Studios ''. Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved April 28, 2014. Jump up ^ `` How Disney Bought Lucasfilm -- and Its Plans for Star Wars ''. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved April 28, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Toledo Mud Hens will wear Chewbacca uniforms for ' Star Wars ' weekend ''. New York Daily News. April 28, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2014. Jump up ^ Andrew Kenney ( March 25, 2014 ). `` Durham Bulls to dress as R2 - D2 from ' Star Wars ' on May 4 ''. The News & Observer. Retrieved May 3, 2014. Jump up ^ Jeffrey Kluger ( May 5, 2015 ). `` A Week on the Space Station : Tacos, ' Star Wars ' and Mice ''. TIME.com. Retrieved May 6, 2015. Jump up ^ Cady Zalben ( May 4, 2017 ). `` A Brief History of ' cady Wars ' Celebration May The Fourth ''. MTV News. Jump up ^ Levine, Daniel S. ( May 6, 2017 ). `` Revenge of the Sixth 2017 : See the Best Funny Sith Memes ''. Retrieved May 6, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Brainiac wants to get nerdy with you for ' Star Wars ' and free comic books -- Orange County Register ''. Retrieved May 6, 2017. Jump up ^ `` ' A New Hope. ' Jon Ossoff backers embrace ' Star Wars ' attack ad - Political Insider blog ''. Retrieved May 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Jan Perry ( May 1, 2007 ). `` Resolution : Star Wars ''. Los Angeles City Council. Jump up ^ Lauren Orsini ( May 23, 2013 ). `` Geek Pride Day Is May 25 : Here 's How To Celebrate ''. Say Media, Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2014. `` Geek Pride Day ''. ThinkGeek, Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2014. External links Official website Star Wars Feature films Saga Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith The Force Awakens The Last Jedi Anthology Rogue One Solo Other The Clone Wars Television series Droids Ewoks Clone Wars The Clone Wars cast episodes Rebels characters episodes Forces of Destiny Detours ( unaired ) Other Television films Holiday Special Caravan of Courage The Battle for Endor Radio dramas Star Wars Setting Characters Jedi Sith Stormtrooper Clone trooper Concepts Architecture Languages The Force Physics Species Bantha Ewok Hutt Sarlacc Tusken Raiders Wookiee List of Star Wars creatures Planets and moons Alderaan Bespin Coruscant Dagobah Endor Hoth Jakku Kashyyyk Naboo Tatooine Yavin Organizations First Order Galactic Empire Galactic Republic New Republic Rebel Alliance Resistance Technology Weapons Blaster Death Star Lightsaber Vehicles Landspeeder TIE fighter X-wing fighter Star Destroyer Millennium Falcon Other Clone Wars Galactic Civil War Mos Eisley Mos Eisley Cantina Production George Lucas Lucasfilm Cast Changes in film re-releases Han shot first Filming locations Music Opening crawl Sequel trilogy Sources and analogues Outside media Attractions A Galactic Spectacular Jedi Training : Trials of the Temple Star Tours The Adventures Continue Galaxy 's Edge Star Wars Hotel Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain Star Wars Launch Bay Star Wars Weekends Where Science Meets Imagination Lego List of sets Droid Tales The Resistance Rises The Freemaker Adventures Merchandise Action figures Kenner list Hasbro Vintage Collection Star Wars Transformers Star Wars Pez Manga Force Trainer Shepperton Design Studios Trading cards Vinylmation Star Wars Rollinz toys Television specials The Making of Star Wars SP FX : The Empire Strikes Back From Star Wars to Jedi : The Making of a Saga Other Video games list Shadows of the Empire Knights of the Old Republic The Force Unleashed The Old Republic Art Books non-fiction Comics list Expanded universe Characters Cultural impact 501st Legion Comparison to Star Trek Force for Change Jedi census Jediism Rebel Legion Star Wars Celebration Star Wars Day Star Wars : In Concert Star Wars Insider Wookieepedia TheForce.Net Yoda conditions Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star_Wars_Day&oldid=816395016 '' Categories : Unofficial observances Star Wars fandom Puns May observances Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from May 2012 Infobox holiday fixed day Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Català Español Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano עברית Magyar Polski Português Русский Svenska Türkçe 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 21 December 2017, at 02 : 05. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did may the 4th be with you begin
Answer: May 4, 1979