DOTD For Monday, May 4, 2026
You Have A Choice - Do You Choose The Light Side? Or The Dark Side?
Today’s DOTD - Drinks Of The Day - are a really a choice, between the forces of good or the forces of evil - and both are inspired by International Star Wars Day! Yes, it’s a real thing, and you can tell, as Star Wars fans around the world on this day will greet each other with the key phrase. “May the 4th be with you,” a play on the movie phrase ““May The Force be with you.” Of course, Jody, Shawn, and most folks brought up in mainline Christian churches also reply to that phrase, “And also with you.” Because of course we do. After all, you can leave the church, but does it really leave you? It’s a spiritual thing, much like those people who believe in The Force.
With that being the inspiration, it makes sense that the Drinks Of The Day are the Skywalker Shot Tail or the Darth Jäger Shot Tail, depending which one you choose.
May the 4th Be With You: A Cultural History
Like anything that emerges from the collective passion of a group of people, the Star Wars fan holiday on May the 4th each year has no single point of origin. It has no official commencement year, no formal dedication. It is a grassroots phenomenon that now transcends the English language pun that inspired it. Around the world, “May the 4th Be With You” is more ubiquitously known as “Star Wars Day.”
The earliest uses of the phrase “May the 4th Be With You” that we have evidence for date from 1978, one year after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope. By then, Star Wars was firmly established within American popular culture and became “like a handshake,” as Professor Leo Braudy would later comment in the documentary, Empire of Dreams. That summer of ’78, clever newspaper writers used the phrase as a gimmick to mark Independence Day celebrations on the Fourth of July. “May the Force be with you,” as heard in A New Hope, had been appearing on licensed (and unlicensed) buttons, posters, and various items for months, enough to convince those writers that the joke would be well-received by their readers.
English-speaking audiences in the United Kingdom were familiar with it as well. It was on May 4, 1979, that the first known instance of “May the 4th Be With You” being used to mark the earlier date took place. Britain’s new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, happened to assume office that day, and another clever newspaper writer for The London Evening News declared in a full-page ad: “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations!” (Coincidentally, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was in production at nearby Elstree Studios at the same time, and issues of the Evening News could have appeared in Lucasfilm’s offices.)
Another lesser-known instance came from within Lucasfilm in 1982. Randy Thom, who today is the director of sound design at Skywalker Sound and has been with the company for over 40 years, worked as a location sound recordist on Revenge of the Jedi (its title, of course, was later changed, and at the time of production it was known under the codename Blue Harvest).
Thom joined the production unit in northern California as they shot in the redwood forest. which was doubling as the moon of Endor. May 4, 1982, happened to be a working day, and Thom recalled thinking of the pun on his own when contemplating the date. He shared it with others on the set, and would continue to write an annual message to the company declaring “May the 4th Be With You” for years to come.
In ensuing years, evidence for use of the phrase in public or private is hazy. As recently as 2005, it was used once again in context with the American Fourth of July holiday. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith had been released weeks earlier, and a marketing push to bring audiences back to theaters inspired a unique newspaper & magazine ad (seen above) sporting Yoda, a background of red-white-and-blue fireworks, and “May the Fourth Be With You” (the ad was later made into a poster sold at StarWars.com).
As the laughable pun continued to circulate underground, an unofficial holiday emerged. Star Wars fans chose the day to hold themed parties or host community events and gatherings. Others simply used it as a time to revisit the films. It was not unlike other ways fans exercised their passion throughout the year, such as the popular “Blow Up the Death Star” watch-parties on New Year’s Eve. This point is essential because Lucasfilm cannot take credit for Star Wars Day. That belongs to the fans, along with the irresistible attraction of using the phrase to evoke laughter (or even an eye-roll) from bemused friends, relatives, colleagues, or even strangers on the street!
It wasn’t that long ago that being a big Star Wars fan was considered being a “nerd” in a negative way. That kind of fandom wasn’t generally considered something to wear on your sleeve (literally or figuratively), for fear of being subjected to harsh criticism, especially if you were an adult who loved the movies, TV shows, and other entertainment. Many adults still saw Star Wars culture as children’s entertainment, and adults who indulged in it as suspect.
Within the last 20-25 years though, that began to change. As cosplay & Star Wars conventions grew, Star Wars fans began to find other adults who openly shared their same passion for the series and the other stories tied to it.
In the early 2000s, Lucasfilm began to take a more active role in the unofficial holiday, helping sponsor and promote events and sharing resources for free use. People started to see “May the 4th Be With You” more often on local television news, at the grocery store, coffee house, bookstore, or sports game. Each time the holiday came back around, it felt like Star Wars was re-emerging in the mainstream, perhaps not unlike how it had become that “handshake” back in the late 1970s.
Lucasfilm’s acquisition by Disney in 2012 and the subsequent announcement of new films going into production came like lightning from a clear blue sky for a lot of fans. Star Wars was center stage again, and everywhere there were T-shirts and bumper stickers and advertisements. The new films, series, books, comics, and games have done a great deal in fueling this surge of relevancy, and the timeless appeal of most Star Wars stories have continued to fuel the passion of its fans.
The latest movie in the series, "“The Mandalorian & Grogu” opens on May 22nd.
Just like The Force, we’ve given you a choice today on which way to take today’s Drink Of The Day…
Will you choose the Skywalker Shot Tail? Or the Darth Jäger Shot Tail? The choice is yours - & the recipes for both are below.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
