Star Wars Day

I have often wondered how all these days started; mother's day, father's day, sister's day, brother's day and the like. Some, like St Patrick's Day, celebrated on the 17th of March had probably to do with the date of birth or date of passing of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. With St. Valentine's Day, I am not so sure. I have a feeling that greeting card companies have had a significant role in creating a number of these occasions to boost sales opportunities.

Star Wars day is different. It started out a few years ago, presumably with a bunch of Star Wars geeks wishing each other on the 4th of May. It was launched neither for commercial gain nor to further political power; it is special in that it is the first that gathered momentum amongst a heterogeneous crowd with a common interest and its spread was accelerated by the use of social media. The popularity of Star Wars Day, in that sense is an indicator of growing influence and power of the common man, of you and me. It is movements like these that can make possible, for the first time, movements like the support for Anna Hazare and for Nirbhaya.

Here's wishing you a great Star Wars Day. May the fourth be with you.