Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren bog obam here. The first time the
Speaker 1: phrase may the fourth be with You appeared in the
Speaker 1: world was in nineteen seventy nine, just a smidge less
Speaker 1: than two years after what's now known as Star Wars
Speaker 1: Episode four A New Hope premiered. May four of nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy nine was the day that Britain's first female Prime
Speaker 1: Minister was elected to that office, and the phrase appeared
Speaker 1: in a newspaper ad congratulating Margaret Thatcher on her historic victory.
Speaker 1: But that seems like a long time ago in a
Speaker 1: galaxy far far away. Since then, there have been eight
Speaker 1: additional movies in the Skywalker Saga alone, plus other films,
Speaker 1: a holiday special, animated and live action television series, video games,
Speaker 1: books and on and on, and now May fourth is
Speaker 1: something of an international Star Wars holiday. May has traded
Speaker 1: no only been a month for Star Wars. The first
Speaker 1: six films in the Skywalker Saga all debuted in May
Speaker 1: during their years of release. It's also the month that
Speaker 1: boasts the birthday of the creator himself, George Lucas. On
Speaker 1: May fourteen, a compelling argument was made at one point
Speaker 1: by Star Wars fans that May would be the best
Speaker 1: to day for a Star Wars day, as it's the
Speaker 1: date that a new hope was originally released in nine,
Speaker 1: but that idea never quite gained traction. It was the
Speaker 1: Internet and social media that eventually revived the May the
Speaker 1: fourth be with You word play. In the twenty teens,
Speaker 1: fans across platforms began talking about May fourth as Star
Speaker 1: Wars Day and tagging posts as such. They've used it
Speaker 1: as an excuse to watch the movies all over again
Speaker 1: if you need such an excuse, and to talk about
Speaker 1: it under unified hashtags like May the four before the article.
Speaker 1: This episode is based on How Stuff Work. Spoke by
Speaker 1: email back in with Amy Ratcliffe, a writer for Star
Speaker 1: Wars dot com um and a correspondent for The Nartist.
Speaker 1: She said that the best thing about this new holiday
Speaker 1: is that there's no set way to celebrate quote. I've
Speaker 1: seen fans throw special parties with themed food and cocktails
Speaker 1: for the occasion. I've seen fans gather at restaurants, bars,
Speaker 1: and comic book shops. I've seen fans head to Disney
Speaker 1: parks to celebrate with special events or by riding Star tours.
Speaker 1: Since there are no official guidelines for the holiday, there's
Speaker 1: no wrong way to celebrate it. To that end, other
Speaker 1: organizations have gotten in on the festivities to support great causes.
Speaker 1: For instance, Rancho Obiwan, a Star Wars museum run by
Speaker 1: former Lucasfilm head of fan Relations Steve Sansweet, has used
Speaker 1: this week to highlight a fundraiser for their Education and
Speaker 1: Preservation Mission, and the US Rebel Alliance, an organization created
Speaker 1: by fan activist Andrew Slack, has used the day to
Speaker 1: talk about the importance of mentors and teachers by way
Speaker 1: of Yoda, using the hashtag teach me You did. They've
Speaker 1: tried to make the Hall Day an opportunity to honor
Speaker 1: the teachers of our lives, and for many, Star Wars
Speaker 1: itself is that teacher. However, people celebrate. It's good news
Speaker 1: for Disney and Lucasfilm as it's essentially free publicity, a
Speaker 1: Ratcliffe said, and the holiday has gained traction in the
Speaker 1: media in the last five or so years, to the
Speaker 1: point where even people who don't know Star Wars, like
Speaker 1: my mom, will text me to say May the Fourth
Speaker 1: be with you. Of course, the owners of Star Wars
Speaker 1: and their merchandising partners get in on this celebration as well.
Speaker 1: The sales on every type of Star Wars merchandise available
Speaker 1: abound on May fourth, and let's be honest, it wouldn't
Speaker 1: be a true American holiday without this feature. But however
Speaker 1: you decide to celebrate, one thing is certain. The fourth
Speaker 1: will be with you always. Today's episode is based on
Speaker 1: the article why exactly is May fourth a Star Wars
Speaker 1: Holiday on how stuff works dot com written by Brian Um.
Speaker 1: To hear more from Brian about Star Wars, check out
Speaker 1: his podcast Full of Sith, also co hosted by Holly
Speaker 1: Fry of Stuff You Missed in History Class. Brain Stuff
Speaker 1: is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with has
Speaker 1: stuffworks dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.