By John Smith • Published: 04 May 2016 • 15:16
The Force Awakens
AFFICIANADOS of the Star Wars franchise celebrate Star Wars day on May 4, saying to each other in a spirit of punning solidarity ‘May the fourth be with you’ and for many, including the Disney Group which purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, this is a day for celebration and special events.
Ironically, the phrase appears to have first been used by the conservative party who placed an advertisement in a London newspaper (following the election victory which brought Britain her first female prime minister on that date), saying ‘May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.’
For various censuses around the English-speaking world, it was suggested that for the answer on religion, respondents should report themselves as Jedi or Jedi Knights and in 2001, nearly 400,000 British people completely the form elected to be Jedi’s which was more than people who considered themselves Buddhist, Jewish or Sikh.
Rather than be offended or take a snotty position, the Office for National Statistics revealed the total figure in a press release entitled ‘390,000 Jedi there are’.
Other momentous events on the same day saw the first edition of the Daily Mail, end of Prohibition in New York, HMS Sheffield hit in the Falklands and Ken Livingstone became the first Mayor of London.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.