Universal Day of the Jedi
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
The Universal Day of the Jedi—May 25—is an "annual Star Wars fan holiday", on May 25. It was originally pushed by fans to begin on May 25, 2007, the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars film. It was created as a geek holiday, similar to that of Hobbit Day or Towel Day.
Universal Day of the Jedi has been envisioned as a celebration of the entire saga, and fandom itself. The first Universal Day of the Jedi, on May 25, 2007, coincided with Celebration IV.
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[edit] Origin
The idea for Universal Day of the Jedi originated in 2006 as news and rumors began surfacing about how Lucasfilm could be planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars in 2007. The concept was first proposed by Greg Davies (former webmaster of fan site Shadow of the Sith) in an article posted on his web site.
[edit] Observance
The observance of Universal Day of the Jedi in May coincides with the release months of each Star Wars film. The date of May 25th was selected because the original Star Wars film, A New Hope, was released on May 25, 1977.
[edit] Celebration
Although Universal Day of the Jedi has been suggested to be a celebratory day on which fans can get together and watch the films, with the holiday being created as a geek holiday, there has been a push to celebrate the day in a similar fashion to days like Day of the Ninja or International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Some online suggestions have included dressing as a Jedi to work and attacking colleagues with Force FX Lightsabers; or stating "May the Force be with you" to everyone who passes by.
[edit] Related observance
Another geek holiday celebrated by some Star Wars fans, is Life Day, a Wookiee celebration first introduced in the Star Wars Holiday Special. While a particular date has never been selected for Life Day, it is indicated in the video game Star Wars: Galaxies that players are encouraged to celebrate Life Day at some point during December.
The fourth of May is celebrated as 'Star Wars Day' in the United Kingdom. The phrase "May the fourth be with you" being the customary greeting for the day. This tongue-in-cheek holiday is annually promoted by BBC Radio 1, among other media outlets
