Star Wars Day: 'May the Fourth Be With You' Celebrated Today
This year, Star Wars Day has arrived Friday and fans all over are celebrating with the phrase "May the Fourth be with you."
May 4 provides the perfect pun on the famed line from "Star Wars," "May the force be with you." The fan-generated holiday is an opportunity for "Star Wars" followers to celebrate their favorite characters and discuss the iconic films.
The "Star Wars" fan base extends across the globe. The first release in the epic space era opera film series was 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope" by George Lucas; it would later become a worldwide pop culture phenomenon.
Two sequels followed the original release of "Star Wars," then 16 years after the release of the trilogy's final film, Lucas released the first in a new prequel trilogy.
"Star Wars" has spawned comic books, television shows, and books, and has generated billions of dollars.
Friday, Twitter users are posting about their May 4 celebrations as both Star Wars Day and May the Fourth became trending topics on the site.
"Happy Star Wars Day," wrote Superman. "And to all the Jedis out there: #MayTheFourth be with you. #StarWarsDay."
Mike wrote, "I consider Star Wars day more of a holiday than Cinco de Mayo #MaytheFourthBeWithYou."
"Staying home sick all day and its may [sic] 4th. Star wars marathon is mostly likely at this point : )."
There is a public and notable rivalry between fans of "Star Wars" and those of the famous "Star Trek" series.
Last year, the competition was highlighted by William Shatner and Carrie Fisher. The actors have a long-standing battle over which series is better. While Fisher defends 1977's "Star Wars," in which she starred, Shatner backs his role as Captain Kirk on the "Star Trek" series, which began in 1966.
On Twitter, fans of both legendary productions have sounded off about their favorites.
"Friends don't let friends watch Star Trek," wrote Eddie. "Star WARS is way better. May the Fourth be with you. #starwarsday #nerdtweet."
"I am brokering peace between battling 'star wars' and 'star trek' fans," posted Steve. "Well, actually we won because we mentioned jar jar binks."
Chris wrote, "There's a huge difference between Star Wars and Star Trek."