Star Wars Day is one holiday where practicing Jedi Knight can say to “May the 4th be with you” without fear of repercussion.
May 4th has been proclaimed Star Wars Day as a pun of the series’ popular phrase “May the force be with you.” The holiday is the motive behind many fans dressing up in Star Wars costumes. Perhaps you’ve seen them parading around in campuses, or even in the workplace (could you imagine Boba Fett taking a sales call?).
Thousands of Star Wars tweets have been updated on Twitter today, but not all supporting the holiday. Twitterer jungbow tweets at 10:40 p.m., “I have never seen a Star Wars movie, therefore I refuse to celebrate Star Wars Day. Some may call it un-American.”
Others use Star Wars Day as a chance to rebut such Star Wars hate by quoting Emperor Palpatine. One such user was nsilva1380, who quoted famous lines from Return of the Jedi by saying, “The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger.” Of course, there are some other movie quotes that may be more intimidating, but this is Star Wars Day. We’ve got a theme to stick to.
Star Wars fanatics have been hoping to found a Jedi church that celebrates May 4, 2009, as their Star Wars Day, but, so far, no churches have agreed to participate in Star Wars Day.
So what does one do to celebrate this most George Lucas-themed of holidays? The most loyal fans join in on a variety of activities including movie marathons consisting of screenings of all six movies in the Star Wars saga. Additionally, the Chicagoan Convention is also typically held on this holiday.
The most faithful Star Wars-loving fans may also attend a Jedi church where sermons are preached of the Jedi’s light sabre techniques and training.
Of course, even practitioners of the great American religion--that being sports--can get on the action for Star Wars Day. The Boston Red Sox’’s Triple A Minor League squad the Pawtucket Red Sox honored Star Wars Day a day early on May 3rd by having Darth Vader throw the opening pitch. Dozens of Star Wars outfitted fans filled the stands cheering on the Sox in their game against the Gwinnett Braves.
However, some observe Star Wars on an entirely different, though very appropriate, day. The city of Los Angeles celebrates Star Wars on May 25th, when the city council declared May 25th, 2007, as its own Star Wars Day, in order to commemorate the first movie’s original release date--May 25th, 1977.
Our Take:
There seems to be an endless opportunity for one to commemorate someone, some event, or anything for that matter as a holiday. It’s no surprise with as many Star Wars fans that are out there that there has been a day reserved to celebrate the revolutionary series. It won’t be long before fans find some kind of religious organization to participate and form a Jedi church.
May the 4th be with you! Happy Star Wars Day!
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