Today is the first ever Universal Day of the Jedi, the geek holiday by Star Wars fans for Star Wars fans - as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the saga and the fandom.
So, aside from the fact there are other similar geek holidays like Hobbit Day, Towel Day, Day of the Ninja, and International Talk like a Pirate Day, why celebrate it?
The answer lies in how deep the culture of Star Wars fandom runs. Here are 10 examples:
The 501st:
The 501st Legion, within the galaxy of Star Wars, is known as Vader's Fist: his personal legion of Stormtroopers for deployment within the Empire. In real life, since 1997, it has been a costuming organization by fans for fans. They pride themselves on their realistic reproductions of Star Wars Stormtrooper costumes and are an official organization that make themselves available - in their own time - for numerous events; most notably fan-based charity events.
Role playing is nothing new, but over the last decade it has exploded on the Internet at an exponential rate. There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of online interactive sites (forums, MySpace, etc.) where fans delve into their own imaginations and develop their own role-playing adventures.
Fan fiction has been around for eons but it truly was popularized online by Star Wars fans. During the period when the prequels were coming out, creative fans would put hands to keyboard and come up with some interesting works. It's not for all people, but thanks to Star Wars fan authors, fan fiction has become a phenomenon in its own right on the Internet.
Back in the day when most people could only afford and/or have access to dial-up connections, I remember coming across a fan film by Kevin Rubio called Troops. While it was not the first ever Star Wars fan film, it was one of the first that helped the movement gather fast momentum. Star Wars Fan Films became so popular that Atom Films and Lucasfilm host an annual contest for fans to vote on their favorites; and George Lucas himself selects a winning entry for the George Lucas Selects award.
From sketches to amazing digital work in Photoshop, Star Wars fan art has also been around for eons but was firmly popularized on the web. With help from sites such as TheForce.Net, artists around the world were able to bring their own concepts and ideas of the Star Wars galaxy to other fans.
To coincide with the release of Episode I, Lucasfilm decided to throw an official convention shindig called Star Wars Celebration. The event was so popular among fans that they had one for each major Star Wars film release. This year, at this very moment, fans are participating in Celebration IV, held to coincide with the 30th anniversary. Next month, European fans will have their first official Celebration as well.
For as long as there have been Star Wars collectibles, there have been people who enjoy customizing individual items. Nowadays, on eBay, you will find numerous custom made Star Wars collectibles, ranging from t-shirts, to action figures, to Lego... the possibilities are limitless.
From its very first day of release on May 25, 1977, some fans have wanted to express their appreciation of Star Wars via music. The first example I can think of was KISS' Ace Frehley incorporating the main theme into his live guitar solos during the band's 1979 tour. Weird Al Yankovic is probably the most well known example, with creative parodies such as "The Saga Begins". In the modern context, there are many fan-based bands out there, including Slave I and Anakin Solo.
Just as Wikipedia was revolutionary for the sharing of general knowledge online, so was Wookieepedia for Star Wars fans. The Star Wars wiki is the most detailed and well-sourced central place for Star Wars knowledge, with information spanning the films, and the entire Expanded Universe.
The grassroots movement that became known as the Jedi Census Phenomenon first surfaced online in 2001, encouraging all fans and others who were interested in declaring their religion to be "Jedi" on census forms in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. 70,000 people declared themselves to be Jedi in Australia, 53,000 in New Zealand, 20,000 in Canada, and 390,000 in the United Kingdom. That rings up a total of over half a million Jedi across the world. The movement has had an unintended, yet inevitable, after effect, with some fans literally taking the move seriously; and taking on Jedi as their true religion, as detailed at The Jedi Is My Way and Jedi Sanctuary. In fact, according to Wikipedia, "On November 16, 2006, two self-proclaimed Jedi delivered a protest letter to UN officials in recognition of the International Day for Tolerance. They requested that it be renamed the "UN Interstellar Day of Tolerance" and cited the 2001 UK Census showing 390,000 Jedi". It would seem that a religion based upon Star Wars is firmly in its early evolution.
So, for today, kick back and enjoy the saga again; or have a great time at Celebration IV; or declare your religion to be Jedi. Whatever your plans are, I wish you a happy Universal Day of the Jedi and May the Force be with you all!
The 
Back in the day when most people could only afford and/or have access to dial-up connections, I remember coming across a fan film by 
To coincide with the release of Episode I, Lucasfilm decided to throw an official convention shindig called Star Wars Celebration. The event was so popular among fans that they had one for each major Star Wars film release. This year, at this very moment, fans are participating in Celebration IV, held to coincide with the 30th anniversary. Next month, European fans will have their 
The grassroots movement that became known as the Jedi Census Phenomenon first surfaced online in 2001, encouraging all fans and others who were interested in declaring their religion to be "Jedi" on census forms in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. 70,000 people declared themselves to be Jedi in Australia, 53,000 in New Zealand, 20,000 in Canada, and 390,000 in the United Kingdom. That rings up a total of 
