The Most Epic Fantasy and Sci-Fi Website

Star Wars Fans Celebrate Holiday Special on Social Media


With the large success of the release of Star War back in May of 1977, everyone was trying to cash in on the success of the show and wanted to give fans something to hold them over until the release of the next movie in 1980. 18 months after the release of the first Star Wars film, Lucasfilm released The Star Wars Holiday Special, a variety program full of musical numbers, animated sequence set within the franchise, comedic sketches, which featured stars such as Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. With the Holiday Special being released on November 17, 1978, fans now consider the date as the annual “Life Day” celebration, which the fans are now celebrating on Twitter.

click to enlarge

Given that the entire Star Wars franchise, as well as the Holiday Special, borrows from real-world elements while adding an intergalactic and fantastical spin to them, Life Day was made instead of making direct reference to any secular holidays that the fans might celebrate. Also known as a Wookiee celebration, Life Day is meant to honor things like compassion towards one another, joy, and family.

While Lucasfilm might have hoped to erase the event from existence, fans who had recorded the Holiday Special had other plans. Over the next two decades, numerous bootleg copies were made, usually being sold at flea markets and conventions around the world. Back in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, the popularity of the internet resulted in even more copies of the Holiday Special making their way around the world, making it more infamous.

Even though the Holiday Special had a disappointing nature, what was once a lesser-known occurrence among fans became more popular than ever. Below are some of the fans’ tweets in celebration of Life Day.


The official Twitter account of Star Wars also posted a tweet celebrating Life Day.

Also Read: Is Rian Johnson's Star Wars Trilogy Still in the Works? Here's the Latest Status

For more articles like this, take a look at our Star Wars and Geek Culture page.