The word “Geek” has a complex history that goes back hundreds of years. It has roots in the 16th-century Low German word “geck,” which was used to describe someone who was gullible or foolish. Although that word would fall out of fashion, it was picked up for use in English during the 19th century.

It began to be used to refer to a certain kind of circus or carnival performer—particularly, someone who specialized in doing weird or disgusting acts. Sideshow geeks were (and still are, where this art is practiced) the people who bit the heads off chickens, swallowed live fish, or ate non-edible items such as light bulbs.

Through the years, the term began to be applied less to circus performers and more to people who were determined by their peers to be eccentric, weird, or socially awkward. Especially those people who may have a strong interest in science or technology, science fiction or horror, or anything that was considered outside of cultural norms.

It began to be used more frequently during the 1950s and 1960s as the science fiction and fantasy genres became more widely consumed. Its use as a derogatory term would hit its peak during the 1980s when it was applied to anyone who wasn’t interested in what was commonly referred to as “cool” by their peers.

Many kids were tortured with the word “geek” during the ’80s, but that began to change during the ’90s. As “nerd culture” began to become the dominant culture, people began to reclaim the word as a badge of honor. Now, millions of people around the world proudly call themselves geeks and are more than happy to share their geek culture with other people.

We too are big fans of geek culture, and that’s why we’ve decided to find out what holidays in May allow people to celebrate their inner geek. And believe it or not, we found plenty of holidays that allow people to celebrate their inner geek. Let’s take a look at them and have a little bit of fun.

National Star Wars Day (May 4th)

You can’t talk about any geek holidays without talking about National Star Wars Day. This is a holiday that’s observed at this time of the year simply because May the 4th sounds a lot like “May the Force” be with you. It’s a great day to enjoy the Star Wars film series or one of the many spinoff movies and television shows that can be found on streaming services. It’s time to grab our lightsabers and bake some Yoda cookies!

National Astronaut Day (May 5th)

At one point in time, you’d be labeled a geek if you loved anything that had to do with the space program. Well, we do remember when our love of astronauts was used to label us as someone who existed outside of cultural norms. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case, and we all can keep our dreams of going into space.

Free Comic Book Day (May 6th)

How should people celebrate this holiday? Well, by receiving a free comic book, of course. Who wouldn’t love a day when a person can get a free comic book? Yes, we know that this annual promotional holiday is used to get people into comic book and fantasy stores, but guess what? It worked! We’re going to get our free comic books on this day, too.

Goku Day (May 9th)

Fans of the Dragon Ball manga series are probably going to want to celebrate Goku Day. This holiday is observed annually on May 9th and it’s placed on this day because the date (05/09) in Japanese is read as “Go” (five) and “Ku” (nine).

National Twilight Zone Day (May 11th)

National Twilight Zone Day is another “geek holiday” that just about everyone can get behind. It not only celebrates the original version of the show but also the revivals that debuted in 1985, 2002, and 2019. It’s also used to celebrate the 1983 Twilight Zone Movie. No matter how a person decides to celebrate this day, they are definitely going to cross into the Twilight Zone!

National Train Day (May 13th)

Adults building and enjoying trains have long been considered kind of odd. Not by us, of course, but by the general population. It was even used as one of the favorite hobbies of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. An obsession with trains might be seen as a “geeky activity,” and that’s why it’s made it on our list of Geek May Holidays.

Talk Like Yoda Day (May 21st)

This is yet another Star Wars holiday that allows people to enjoy the Star Wars franchise. This one has just a little bit of a twist, however. It also encourages people to talk like the famous Jedi master. And it’s not all that hard to do. All they have to do is flip the subject, verb, and object structure to object, subject, and verb. A good example of Yoda speak, we think.

World Goth Day (May 22nd)

This is a day when the goth scene gets to celebrate its own identity and make its presence known to the world. This holiday has only been around since 2009, but the goth scene has been around for decades. Although we’re sure some goths might object, this scene is a sub-branch of geek culture, and that’s why we’re going to celebrate it on this holiday.

National Towel Day (May 25th)

This holiday was started by Douglas Adams fans who wanted to give him a fitting tribute. For people who might not know, Douglas Adams wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and in that book, towels are described as one of the most massively useful things that an interstellar hitchhiker can take with them.

Geek Pride Day (May 25th)

What’s the best way to finish an article on the best geek holidays for May? How about ending it with Geek Pride Day? This is a catch-all holiday that encourages geeks of all different stripes to show their pride in geek fandom. It doesn’t matter if they’re anime or animation geeks, computer geeks, horror geeks, sci-fi or fantasy geeks, or RPG geeks. All that matters is that they take the time to celebrate the things they love the most.

And that’s all that we have for today, our geeky friends. We hope that everyone finds a holiday that they can observe during this month and that they will go out there and observe it with a whole lot of enthusiasm.