Taking off Travel blog

If you have ever thought ‘there’s a day for everything’ now you have proof, because today is Star Wars Day. It doesn’t mark the release of the first Star Wars film, which happened on May 25th, 1977. Instead it’s a wonderfully silly pun based on that famous Star Wars catchphrase ‘May the force be with you’. May the fourth be with you. Get it?

Interestingly, it seems the pun didn’t originate with Star Wars fans, but with the election of Margaret Thatcher as UK prime minister on May 4th, 1979. An ad from her political party celebrating the event read: “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.”

That’s all the excuse committed Star Wars fans have needed to make this into an unofficial holiday where they watch the films, dress up (with light sabers, of course) and use the catchphrase wherever they can. In Toronto, there’s the second annual celebration of Intergalactic Star Wars Day at the Toronto Underground Cinema. As well as film screenings, there’s a costume contest, a game show and lots of Star Wars themed swag from major manufacturers.

Will you be celebrating Star Wars Day? If you are, hope you’ve enjoyed this collection of fun Star Wars related pictures.

Cinco de Mayo is coming up on Saturday. Although we are happy to join in the celebrations, many of us don’t know what it’s really about. These fun facts about the day might help.

1. Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for the fifth of May) is a Mexican national holiday which commemorates the Battle of Puebla where the Mexicans triumphed against France in 1862.
2. The battle shows the triumph of the underdog as 4,000 Mexican soldiers fended off 6,500 French soldiers. The victory was mainly a morale booster; it took another 6 years to rout the French altogether.
3. Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated on September 16.
4. The celebration is biggest in Puebla but is also widely celebrated in the US. Some believe that’s because of people in former territories of Mexico continue to celebrate it. The celebrations continue to spread, with more than 150 celebrations noted in a 2006 study. Read more »

It’s the start of May and the weather grows ever warmer. As we start to think about summer travel plans, let’s take a look at some fun and interesting facts about May Day.

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It’s almost May, which means summer is around the corner! But before we get there, we have plenty of occasions to celebrate in May.

Cinco de Mayo

Coming up first is Cinco de Mayo, originally a Mexican holiday and now celebrated in many parts of the US. We’ll be covering the holiday in more detail next week.

Mother’s Day

People have already celebrated Mother’s Day 2012 in the UK but now it’s our turn to make much of our moms and splash out on flowers, chocolate and celebrations. Sorry, dads, you’ll have to wait another month for your turn.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day on May 28th is the day to honor the war dead at Arlington National Cemetery and across the country. Here’s how we marked the day last year. You can also honor the armed forces on Armed Forces Day on May 19th and the merchant navy on National Maritime Day on May 22nd. Read more »