This past Sunday, May 4th, better known in the Star Wars community as Star Wars day, or simply “May the Fourth,” is commonly considered just another day to those outside the community. They don’t see a reason to celebrate, as they either don’t know anything about or simply don’t care about Star Wars. Even with this reasoning, however, May the Fourth might just be worth celebrating.
Not everyone who celebrates Christmas is Christian, so why should everyone who celebrates Star Wars day be a Star Wars fanatic? It’s fun, and everyone could stand to incorporate more fun into their lives.
Disney+ releases new Star Wars content every year, and the Disney Parks have their “Season of the Force” lasting from late March to early May, complete with new firework shows and Hyperspace Mountain, a Star-Wars themed overlay of Space Mountain.
Not everyone has time to go to Disneyland on a whim, though. It’s much more convenient to celebrate at home. English teacher and self-proclaimed avid Star Wars fan Kevin Hurt describes how he celebrates the holiday every year. If the holiday falls on a school day, Hurt dresses up in his Jedi best and teaches his classes that way. He says he always watches “at least one Star Wars movie,” but if the fourth is on a weekend, he holds a marathon, sometimes including other teachers.
Another tradition Hurt holds is to make a Star Wars themed dinner. Utilizing Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge cookbook, he emulates recipes you can standardly only get in the Disney Parks, such as ronto wraps—a pork sausage with pulled pork and coleslaw on flat bread—and the infamous “blue milk,” which in reality is a dairy-free slushy made using coconut and rice milk with some fruity flavoring and of course added blue food dye.
Some may choose to carry the celebration over to the fifth or sixth, dubbing it “revenge of the fifth” or “revenge of the sixth,” but for those less interested in the Star Wars franchise, May the fourth is plenty sufficient.
If Star Wars day simply isn’t your cup of tea, that’s alright. I still believe in fun and silly holidays like this, just to brighten up your life.
So, whether you choose to celebrate or not, May the Fourth be with you.
