Star Wars Day! It’s almost here! Hopefully you have already started combing out the knots from your Wookie costume in preparation for May the 4th. But do you know the origins of Star Wars Day? Good news… we did the research for you so you don’t have to.
The origins of Star Wars Day are not entirely clear, but believe it or not it involves former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher?! Yep.
The first recorded instance of the phrase being used in connection with the Star Wars franchise was in 1979. On May 4th of that year, the Conservative Party in the UK took out a newspaper ad that read, "May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations." The ad was a congratulatory message to Margaret Thatcher, who had just been elected as the UK's first female Prime Minister.
The next notable instance of the phrase being used in connection with Star Wars occurred in 2011, when the Toronto Underground Cinema organized a Star Wars movie marathon on May 4th. The event was advertised with the tagline, "May the Fourth Be With You."
Since then, Star Wars Day has grown in popularity and is celebrated by fans around the world with movie marathons, cosplay, and various other Star Wars-themed activities. The day has been recognized by the official Star Wars website, and Lucasfilm has released special merchandise and content to mark the occasion.
Last fall, we teamed up with artist Justin Morales to release his amazing 3 piece collection of Star Wars Original Trilogy prints to the world. We went all out on these prints using special Day Glo and Metallic inks to make them really pop.
What a better way to celebrate Star Wars Day than to pick up some of these beautiful Limited Edition prints. Make your friends jealous, and bask in the warm light bouncing off of C3PO’s gold metallic ink.