Celebrate Geek Pride Day Every May 25

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On May 25 it’s time to celebrate being geeky, nerdy and misunderstood. That’s right, it’s Geek Pride Day. You may also see it called Nerd Pride Day.

Whatever you call it, it’s a day to be proud of having interests the so-called “normal” people don’t quite understand.

Now, as a geek or nerd, you may already be celebrating on May 25. The date is also Towel Day (fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will understand). And it’s the Glorious 25th of May (celebrated by Discworld fans).

Those two holidays alone make May 25 an appropriate date to celebrate being a geek. But the real reason the date was chosen was because it’s also the anniversary of the 1977 release of the inaugural Star Wars movie, Episode IV: A New Hope.  (Of course, back then it was just called Star Wars)

The first Geek Pride Day was in Spain in 2006, organized by blogger German Martinez. Over the years it has spread around the world.

There actually were earlier Geek Pride Days or Geek Pride Festivals in the late 1990s. They were organized by Tim McEachern, but as far as we’ve been able to tell they’re unrelated to the holiday started in 2006.

 

Should Geek Pride and Nerd Pride Be Two Separate Events?

As mentioned, May 25 is called both Geek Pride Day and Nerd Pride Day. Most sources suggest it’s the same celebration, just with different names. And we’re sort of doing the same.

But we also started to wonder if it should actually be two different celebrations that happen to be on the same day?

After all, Towel Day is on this day, but nobody’s assuming it’s just another name for Geek Pride Day.

And while many people use the terms interchangeably, others assure us that geeks and nerds are different animals.

According to Urban Dictionary, nerds are smart but lack a social life. Geeks have a social life, but it revolves around their geeky passion/obsession.

Here’s an amusing discussion of the differences:

 

 

But in other ways geeks and nerds are the same. Or at least very similar.

They’re often misunderstood. As kids they may be teased and/or shunned by those kids who prefer sports to comic books or school, for example. As adults they may be ridiculed for maintaining interest in “kids’ stuff,” like dressing in character and going to conventions.

We’ll leave it up to you what you want to call your celebration. And whether you’re a geek or a nerd. Or if you even care about the label.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this fun unofficial holiday.

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How to Celebrate Geek Pride Day

Now usually these celebrations involve doing things related to the topic of the day. Obviously.

But if you’re a geek or nerd … Well, you’re likely doing geeky and nerdy things every day!

We don’t mean that as a slam. Not at all. If that’s who you are, then that’s what you’re supposed to do: Be yourself. That’s a good thing.

But it can make it a little hard to find something different to do to celebrate your geeky pride.

But it can be done. Probably most effectively by doing things you don’t do as often as you’d like. How about:

Having a geek/nerd movie marathon. Pick your favorite movies and binge-watch. Try for a mix of classics and newer movies. Maybe:

• Back to the Future
• The Goonies
• The Matrix
• Weird Science
• Pi
• The Social Network
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Star Trek (any one you prefer; maybe even have a marathon of your favorites)
• Star Wars (again, your most favorite or all your favorites)

 

You could even live tweet your movie marathon!

Go play lazer tag. Maybe dressed as storm troopers? Or whatever characters you prefer.

Alternatively, have a light saber battle. In public.

Have your own Comic Con. Come on, between you and your friends you have enough memorabilia, comic books and costumes to have a mini convention. We’ll leave the details to your capable imaginations.

You can also include celebrations of either Towel Day (carry your towel) or the Glorious 25th of May (wear hard-boiled eggs and lilac!) as part of your Geek Pride Day celebrations.

For non-geeks who want to understand, try joining some of your geekier friends in at least part of their geeky celebrations. Who knows, you might enjoy it—at least in small doses!

And finally, check out what Wil Wheaton had to say about being a nerd:

 

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