Happy Star Wars Day! Did you know some Star Wars fan root for the Empire? There’s even an entire community designated to it titled, “Empire Did Nothing Wrong.” See the funniest, pro-Empire memes here.

May 4th is Star Wars Day because of the easily made pun on the iconic expression from the Star Wars movies “May the Force be with you” into “May the 4th be with you.”

The Star Wars franchise, centered on a film series originally created by George Lucas, has had a resurgence of popularity recently with the release of the first installment of a sequel trilogy that began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens along with spin-off films like Rogue One. The franchise originally began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981). It was followed up by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).

A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005.

Learn about the history and origins of the Star Wars Day below!

According to the Danish news DR TV, the pun was first acknowledged on May 4, 1979 by the London Evening News, who congratulated former United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on her inauguration day by writing the headline “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie.”

At the time, the Star Wars franchise was about two years old.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died in April 2013, served as PM of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. She is recognized as not only being the only woman to have ever held the title but also as the longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century as well. She was nicknamed as “the Iron Lady” due to her uncompromising, conservative politics. The nickname would later become the title of a 2011 biographical film about Thatcher, starring Meryl Streep in the title role.

After the clever coining of the day by the London Evening News, various celebrations were held for Star Wars Day around the globe. However, it was never officially recognized in the years to follow, even with the subsequent release of the two follow-ups to the inaugural Star Wars film.

The Empire Strikes Back was released a year after the phrase was coined on May 21, 1980.

Return of the Jedi came out three years later on May 25, 1983.

The first organized Star Wars Day was on May 4, 2011, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Toronto Underground Cinema. It now has a Facebook page which advertises the annual event.

The inaugural day included trivia, a costume contest with celebrity judges, and other celebrations of all things Star Wars.

However, other places quickly replicated Toronto’s celebration and now there are many different locations of Star Wars Day celebrations every year, including an official Disney one.

Happy Star Wars Day!