Star Wars Day: May the fourth be with you (VIDEO)
LONDON – MAY 16: Storm Troopers parade outside the Empire cinema to celebrate the London premiere of the final part of the Star Wars series, and the first ever screening of the entire six-film Star Wars saga, in Leicester Square on May 16, 2005 in London, England. The Empire Leicester Square
May the fourth marks international, or rather intergalactic, Star Wars Day.
This day above all others was chosen because today, May the 4th, be with you.
Yes, it is an obvious play on the famous Star Wars quote, "may the force be with you." While George Lucas has not officially sanctioned the day, he is a full supporter, even providing free content on their site to help fans celebrate the day.
The first Star Wars film debuted 35 years ago, on May 24, 1977. Since then it has not only grown into the largest movie franchise of all time, but also has amassed the most hardcore fan base of any film.
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In fact, in 2001, a grassroots movement began to form in several English-speaking countries, according to Wikipedia, which called on Star Wars fans to list their religion, as Jedi.
No country has officially recognized Jediism, however in according to The Sydney Morning Herald, nearly 70,000 Australian citizens marked themselves Jedi in their 2001 census data.
That same year, according to The New Zealand Herald, over 53,000 Kiwi's declared themselves as Jedi, giving New Zealand the distinction of having the highest number of Jedis per capita.
In June 2005, Jedi's had their first official elected official. According to Parlament.UK, Jamie Reed, the then newly-elected Labour Member of Parliament for Copeland in Cumbria, declared himself to be the first Jedi Member of Parliament. He later noted it was a joke, intended to poke fun at the Religious Hatred Bill.
While it is easy to make fun of Star Wars geeks for celebrating and even worshiping a movie, their creed is one we can all learn from.
According to About.com, it reads:
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force.
Now let's celebrate with Star Wars Kid:
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