OTTAWA – The recognition of May 4 as unofficial International Star Wars Day appears to be catching on in official Ottawa.

A few dozen students, tourists and government employees stopped briefly to listen Monday as the Dominion carillonneur played a rendition of the Star Wars theme song on the Peace Tower bells as part of her daily noon-hour performance.

The lispy pun used to link the “May the force be with you” line from Star Wars to the May 4 date also inspired Opposition NDP Leader Tom Mulcair to post a picture of himself on Facebook and Twitter, his head superimposed on the body of fictional character Obi-Wan Kenobi holding a blue light saber.

Mulcair’s comment: “I’ve seen this photo going around. To be clear, I would prefer an orange light saber,” followed by the hashtag, #MayThe4thBeWithYou.

The pun dates back to May 4, 1979, when Margaret Thatcher’s party placed an ad in the London Evening News to congratulate her on being elected Britain’s first female prime minister, which read “May the Fourth be with you,” according to Starwars.com.

Since then, the date has become a holiday for some Star Wars fans.

The first organized celebration of “Star Wars Day” took place in Toronto in 2011 at the Toronto Underground Cinema and included a costume contest and film screenings.