Yes, 'May the 4th be with you' has become an international day of recognition for Star Wars. The space opera film franchise has been entertaining millennial audiences since 1977. But today southerners honor an even longer lasting tradition that has been in existence for hundreds of years.

May 4th is National Lemonade Day. While the tangy and sour fruit came from the Mediterranean region, it was in Paris that the drink became popular. In the 1600's, Compagnie de Limonadiers as they were called, would delight crowds who shopped the streets of the large city. Made of sparkling water, lemon juice and honey, vendors sold it from tanks strapped to their backs.

Fast forward to the 1800's in the United States and there was a campaign to have less liquor in the daily diet. The Women’s Christian Temperance Movement pushed abstinence from alcohol and advocated lemonade as a replacement beverage. One Sunkist slogan from the era summed it up: “Good-bye to liquor, here’s to lemonade.”

The movement became so popular that even First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes banned alcohol from the White House, earning her the nickname "Lemonade Lucy".

At the end of the 19th century, circuses played a huge part in making lemonade the national beverage. A growing number of people attended the circuses that traveled around the country. The concession stands that served lemonade were as popular as the acts under the Big Top.

But it was the south that made the drink a symbol of Southern hospitality and a refreshing summer treat. Lemonade's association with summer and refreshment cemented its position as a popular beverage in the South, where famously hot and humid weather is common. The southerners of the day were promoting abstinence from alcohol and the refreshing drink paired well with the large airy porches of the region. Of course someone in Lynchburg, Tennessee had to add a tinge of bourbon to make the "Lynchburg Lemonade."

Now kids have lemonade stands which help them learn about the pleasures of profits. Adults buy the lemon concoctions and add special flavoring, why sipping in the shade.

Yes it is May 4th! Happy Lemonade Day and May the 4th be with you.