May 4 is unofficially celebrated as Star Wars Day amongst fans. The name is a pun since the day’s date, May Fourth, sounds like the popular phrase from the movies: “May the Force be with you.”

Reportedly, the earliest mention of the phrase was when Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s Prime Minister on May 4, 1979. An ad in the newspaper congratulated her victory with “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie.”

Since then, fans have taken the date as an excuse to have fun and celebrate the film series they love. Toronto held the world’s first Star Wars Day event in 2011 where attendees could participate in costume contests, trivia contests, and meet up with other fans. And since Disney bought the rights to the franchise in 2012, they’ve begun to hold festive events in their parks as well.

So what can you do to get in on the Star Wars day action yourself? Here are a few of my suggestions:

Buy cinnamon buns for breakfast. Before you eat them, pose for a few photos while holding the food up to your ears to simulate Princess Leia’s iconic hairstyle. Don’t forget to post the pictures to Facebook!

Begin all your emails with “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Bonus points if you can manage to subtly work the rest of the opening crawl into the text of the email. (Double bonus points if this doesn’t get you fired from your job.)

Get a Nerf gun and do some target practice just like a Stormtrooper would. Remember, the goal is to NOT hit the target.

Keep up with the latest galactic fashions and style your bathrobe like a Jedi robe.

Give directions to a wayward traveler by saying “This is not the street you’re looking for.”

Go to the grocery store and wave your hands at the automatic doors to open them with The Force. Additionally, once inside the store, go to the frozen section and pretend you’re rescuing Luke from the ice planet Hoth.

Talk like Yoda, you must. (If annoying people, you want)

If anyone owes you money, simply freeze them in carbonite.

And if none of these ideas appeal to you, you can always just go with the easy option of marathoning all of the Star Wars films in one sitting. That’s currently eight movies for a total of 17 hours and 40 minutes. (If that seems like a long time, take comfort in the fact that watching all six films of the Lord of the Rings franchise would take 19 hours and 39 minutes.)

So if you’re a Star Wars junkie, go have fun! Just try not to cause any damage with a lightsaber in the process.

And don’t forget: if you can’t celebrate “May the Fourth,” you’ve got another chance tomorrow with “Revenge of the Fifth.”

Holly Taylor is a staff writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or by phone at 252-332-7206.