How to Celebrate: May The 4th Be With You!
May 4th is a day Star Wars fans have chosen to celebrate and honor all-things-Star-Wars, be it by posting Star Wars related content to social media, hosting Star Wars screening parties, wearing Star Wars costumes and clothing, or shopping for Star Wars merchandise.
Why May 4th?
Because, as it happens, fans invented a clever turn of phrase based on the classic Star Wars slogan “May the Force Be With You” back in 1978: “May the FOURTH Be With You”. While originally invoked among US fans as a Fourth of July greeting, it was reset to May 4th the following year when a full-page ad appeared in the May 4, 1979 issue of The London Evening News to congratulate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on her taking office that day: “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations!”
Since then, and especially in recent years, Star Wars fans have claimed May 4th as their day, a day that has also given Lucasfilm an opportunity to give back to the Star Wars community that honors that galaxy far, far away.
Since 2012, Lucasfilm has encouraged May the 4th activities through its official website and social channels as well as provided built-in discounts and special offers on Star Wars merchandise. And since “May the 4th Be With You” doesn’t carry the same witty punch when translated into other languages, “Star Wars Day” has been adopted to establish a global meaning for this annual worldwide celebration.
For more information on the history of Star Wars Day, check out this article on StarWars.com: http://www.starwars.com/news/gearing-up-for-may-the-4th-and-with-good-reason and log on to http://www.starwars.com/may-the-4th for the official May the 4th hub.
So how will you be celebrating May 4th?
Here are a few suggestions!
Number 1: Takealot
- Takealot.com is celebrating May the 4th: For today only, all the movies and must-have memorabilia from your favourite intergalactic heroes, will be available at special prices
- Check out: http://www.takealot.com/deals/jedi
Number 2: Top 10 Ways to Celebrate May the Fourth
- Download this PDF
- And here are 5 new ideas: http://www.starwars.com/news/5-new-ways-to-celebrate-star-wars-day
- What about a Star Wars themed party complete with blue milk, Jawa smores, or twin sun smoothies – there are a myriad of great ideas!
- And show off your creative side with these creative crafts and activities.
Number 3: Star Wars Quiz
- Download this PDF
- Whether your skills are of a Padawan or a Jedi level, get your friends together and test your Star Wars knowledge
Number 4: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- During Star Wars Celebration last month, the Star Wars: The Last Jedi panel brought the whole cast together to reveal the first teaser trailer for the film that will release on December 15, 2017! Relive the excitement by visiting YouTube to see the trailer. See highlights of the panel on StarWars.com.
Number 5: Disney XD Celebrates May the 4th!
- Tune in to Disney XD (DStv, Channel 304) tonight, Thursday 4 May from 18:10 and enjoy back-to-back episodes of the hilarious animated series Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures after the adventure and action-filled television special, Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars. The story is set a couple summers ago in a galaxy far, far away when Phineas, Ferb and the gang are in a parallel universe – during Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Iconic Star Wars characters Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 are featured in this special programming event
- And don’t miss out this weekend as Star Wars Rebels Season 3 continues with a brand new episode on Saturday at 18:10.
So join in the celebrations and let us know how you will be celebrating International Star Wars Day this year by using the #StarWarsDay or #Maythe4thBeWithYou hashtags.
May the 4th be With You!
About The Walt Disney Company in Africa
The Walt Disney Company (TWDC), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media group. TWDC is the home of Disney, Disney•Pixar, Marvel, ABC Studios, ESPN and Lucasfilm.
The Walt Disney Company Africa (TWDCA) has been active across the continent for over 50 years. TWDCA has three channels on the Multichoice DStv platform which operates across the continent – Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD – and is one of the leading provider of children’s TV channels in Africa. Disney is also one of the top distributors of US programming in the region, bringing network series, movies as well as Disney-branded kids and family content to TV viewers. These include top rating US network ABC Studios series such as Grey’s Anatomy, How to get away with Murder, The Fixer, Quantico and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
TWDCA’s film distribution arm is a leader for family movies in cinemas and on DVD and Blu-Ray. In December 2015, Star Wars returned to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Not only did the film launch as the biggest December opening weekend of all time, but also went on to become Disney’s biggest release ever, currently sitting as the 3rd biggest film of all time in the history of the South African Box Office. In December 2016, the first film in the new standalone Star Wars stories series, Rogue One, hit cinemas. Recent animated feature releases include Disney•Pixar’s Inside Out and Finding Dory, with 2017 seeing the much anticipated release of Disney•Pixar’s Cars 3. Marvel releases for the year include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor Ragnarok.
2014 and 2015 saw local production stops of both Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and the live-action Disney film Queen of Katwe respectively. In February, ABC Studios completed production of the live-action series Of Kings and Prophets in Cape Town. In 2015 – 2016, Disney Channel aired its first ever local production, I Love Violetta, a short-form companion series to the channel’s #1-rated show, Violetta. In 2016 Disney Cookabout, Disney’s first long-form series production in South Africa, launched on SABC 2 and in 2017 took home the Safta for Best Children’s Programme.
Feld Entertainment’s Disney On Ice returned to South Africa for the fifth time in 2016 with Worlds of Enchantment that saw a 38% and 30% year-on-year increase in attendance for Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively.
As part of the company’s on-going commitment to help family’s lead healthy and happy lifestyles, Disney, in collaboration with Discovery Vitality, launched the Disney Healthy Living Website in 2015. The online destination offers families engaging content, useful tools and unique experiences to make nutritious eating and physical activity more appealing and fun for their children. Disney Baby Africa was also launched, offering expecting and new parents information, resources, inspiring ideas and more to create magical moments through pregnancy, birth and the early years of raising their children.
To find out more about all things TWDCA, fans and families can connect via: Disney’s dedicated website (www.disney.co.za), Mobisite (disneyafrica.mobi), Facebook (www.facebook.com/DisneyinAfrica, www.facebook.com/DisneyJuniorAfrica, www.facebook.com/MarvelAfrica, www.facebook.com/StarWarsAfrica), Disney Healthy Living: www.disneyhealthyliving.co.za), Disney Baby Africa (baby.disneyafrica.com) and Youtube (Disney Channel Africa: www.youtube.com/user/disneychannelza, Disney XD Africa: www.youtube.com/user/disneyxdza).
