When Is Star Wars Day? (May the 4th — Origins, History & How It's Celebrated)
The Short Answer
Star Wars Day is May 4th, every year. The date comes from a pun: May the Fourth be with you sounds like May the Force be with you.
The day is now officially recognized by Disney, Lucasfilm, Disney Parks, and Disney+, with major content drops and themed events scheduled around it annually. May 5th — Revenge of the Fifth (or Revenge of the Sith) — is the unofficial dark-side companion day.
When Did Star Wars Day Start?
The pun itself is older than the official holiday. The most-cited origin:
May 4, 1979 — The Thatcher Election Ad
On May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the United Kingdom's first female Prime Minister. Her Conservative Party placed a half-page congratulatory ad in the London Evening News that read:
"May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations."
This is the earliest documented use of the pun — published less than two years after Star Wars (1977) released, when the franchise was still in its first wave of cultural saturation.
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1980s–2000s — Fan Adoption
Through the 1980s and 1990s, the pun spread through fan clubs, fanzines, and eventually Usenet and early web forums. It was widely used informally but had no organized celebration.
May 4, 2011 — The First Official Event
The Toronto Underground Cinema held the first organized Star Wars Day fan celebration on May 4, 2011 — featuring trivia, costume contests, mash-up videos, and an Empire Strikes Back screening. The event is now considered the modern starting point.
2013 — Disney Makes It Official
After Disney acquired Lucasfilm in October 2012 (see our Disney acquisition history), Disney officially adopted May 4th as a franchise holiday in 2013. Since then it has been used to launch:
| Year | Star Wars Day launch |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian (behind-the-scenes series) |
| 2021 | Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1 |
| 2022 | Tales of the Jedi (announced) |
| 2023 | Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 |
| 2024 | Various Disney+ catalog refreshes and merch drops |
| 2025 | Galactic Starcruiser memorial content + Skeleton Crew marketing |
Why May 4th Specifically?
The pun works on a rhythmic and phonetic level:
- "May the Force be with you" (canonical Star Wars blessing, first heard in Star Wars 1977)
- "May the Fourth be with you" (homophonic substitution)
Both phrases have the same syllable count, same stress pattern, and the only changed sound (Force → Fourth) is a near-homophone in most English accents. That's why the joke landed so cleanly in 1979 and why it has never faded.
May 5th — Revenge of the Fifth
The day after Star Wars Day, May 5th is the unofficial dark-side companion holiday — known as either:
- "Revenge of the Fifth" — phonetic play on Revenge of the Sith (Episode III, 2005)
- "Revenge of the Sixth" is sometimes joked about on May 6th, but doesn't really stick
Lucasfilm and Disney occasionally acknowledge Revenge of the Fifth on social media with Sith-themed posts (Darth Vader, Palpatine, Kylo Ren, Darth Maul), but it has never been formally elevated to the same status as May 4th.
For Sith characters and dark-side names, see our Sith Names Guide and Villain Names Guide.
How Star Wars Day Is Celebrated
By Disney & Lucasfilm
- Disney+ content releases — frequently new episodes, behind-the-scenes specials, or full series launches
- Disney Parks events — Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland (Anaheim) and Disney's Hollywood Studios (Orlando) run themed merchandise, character meet-and-greets, themed Oga's Cantina menu items, and occasional fireworks
- Merchandise drops — exclusive shirts, LEGO sets, Funko Pops, collectibles
- Social media campaigns — official Star Wars accounts post all-day, hashtag #MayThe4th trends globally
By Fans
- Marathon viewings — pick a trilogy or chronological order (the Star Wars Watch Order Guide covers every option)
- Costume parties — Jedi robes, Stormtrooper armor, Princess Leia cinnamon buns
- Lightsaber duels — toy, prop, or in-game
- Star Wars gaming sessions — Battlefront 2 has crossplay, Skywalker Saga has local co-op
- Fan fiction and OC creation — many writers post new chapters or new original characters on May 4th
- Tabletop sessions — Star Wars RPGs (FFG, WEG d6, or homebrew d20)
- Naming new projects — character generators see massive traffic spikes on May 4th
By the Wider Internet
Search volume for Star Wars terms more than triples on May 4th every year. Brands and meme accounts use the hashtag indiscriminately, ad spend on Star Wars-themed creative spikes, and Google occasionally runs themed doodles or Easter eggs in search.
The "Be With You" Pun in Other Languages
The pun doesn't translate cleanly outside English. Most non-English Star Wars fan communities still celebrate on May 4th, but using either:
- The English phrase as a borrowed expression
- A locally invented alternative (French fans have used "May le 4" and similar)
This makes the holiday somewhat unique — it's a globally recognized fan day whose origin pun only works in one language.
Is Star Wars Day Trademarked?
Disney has trademarked the phrase "May the 4th Be With You" for commercial merchandise. Practically speaking:
- ✅ You can say or post the phrase on social media
- ✅ You can use it in non-commercial fan art and fan fiction
- ❌ You cannot sell merchandise (shirts, mugs, prints) using the exact phrase without licensing
- ❌ You cannot use it as a brand identifier for a commercial product or event
The trademark is rarely aggressively enforced against small fan creators, but big merchandise launches around May 4th are routinely takedown'd if they use the protected phrase.
How to Celebrate Star Wars Day This Year
A simple three-step game plan:
- Watch something — pick a trilogy or rewatch a favorite (Mandalorian, Andor, Clone Wars all work great)
- Play something — Battlefront 2, Skywalker Saga, Jedi: Survivor, or a tabletop session
- Create something — use our Star Wars Name Generator to build a new character for a fan project, RPG, or just for fun. May the 4th is consistently our biggest traffic day of the year — partly because of this exact use case.
May the 4th — and the Force — be with you.
Related Reading
- BBY/ABY Dating System — for dating your own Star Wars Day character to the right era
- Star Wars Watch Order — best marathon orders
- Is Star Wars Battlefront 2 Crossplay?
- Is LEGO Skywalker Saga Multiplayer?
- Best Star Wars Movies Ranked
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Ross, E. (2026, July 18). When Is Star Wars Day? (May the 4th — Origins, History & How It's Celebrated). Star Wars Name Generator. https://starwarsnamegenerator.com/blog/star-wars-day
