Culture

Brands Have Ruthlessly Taken Over Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day is upon us, whether we like it or not. May the Fourth be with you.

By Adam Chandler
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This article is from the archive of our partner .

Star Wars Day is upon us, whether we like it or not. The "holiday," once celebrated in the quiet shame of one's own home, is having something of a public resurgence thanks to multiple Star Wars hashtags and trend lines currently dominating social media sites.

And, of course, the brands are even getting into the act:

This one definitely deserves an award:

NASA, by the way, also isn't monkeying around:

Star Wars cross-promotion is hardly limited to one day a year. As we noted earlier this week, Tunisia ( Tatooine) is hoping for a tourism boom as its cities exploit their connection to filming locations in the original Star Wars flicks. 

For those who are curious, the history of Star Wars Day, like America itself, owes some of its roots to bloody England: 

The reference was first used on May 4, 1979 when Margaret Thatcher's political party placed an advertisement in The London Evening News following her taking office as Prime Minister that stated: "May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations."

May is also of vital importance to the Star Wars season. Here is a little bit of a history lesson from the folks at StarWars.com:

May the 4th kicks off a season of celebration, particularly since the month of May has always been important to Star Wars fans. The six live-action movies of the Star Wars saga debuted in May (starting with the original Star Wars on May 25, 1977) and this year, May 25 marks the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi. The month of May includes George Lucas' birthday (May 14, 1944), and has been the traditional start date of the popular Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World Resort (this year, the fun begins on May 14).

And if you thought the Star Wars mania ends with Cinco de Mayo, you'd be wrong:

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.