Empire Day

Empire Day was a galactic holiday celebrated by the Galactic Empire. The observance of Empire Day began in 19 BBY, when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine proclaimed the Clone Wars to be over and reorganized the Galactic Republic into the First Galactic Empire via the Declaration of a New Order. In his declaration, Palpatine mandated that Imperial citizens would celebrate the anniversary of Empire's creation yearly, for the sake of posterity. Although the first Empire Day was marked by several attempts by Jedi to dismantle the Empire, the new government and the tradition lived on. When the rebellious Alliance to Restore the Republic formed in 2 BBY, its members protested the celebration of Empire Day. In a symbolic show of solidarity with the Old Republic, the Alliance began celebrating Remembrance Day on the same date as the Empire's galactic holiday. During the Galactic Civil War, both the Empire and the Alliance ramped up propaganda efforts to promote the observation of the respective holidays.

Empire Day was celebrated in a number of different ways, depending on region and culture. Although the holiday fell on one day of the year, celebrations in some corners of the Empire continued for weeks. Such jubilation could be found on Naboo, where the capital city of Theed played host to Imperial Military parades and statues of Emperor Palpatine for days. During this time, the Empire provided loyal citizens with goods that promoted state pride, such as food rations and artwork.

Text and facts from the “Empire Day/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.