First Contact Day is an unofficial holiday that is celebrated annually on April 5th. This day is a minor holiday in the Star Trek universe and celebrates the day when the Vulcans first made contact with Earth as portrayed in Star Trek: First Contact and the Star Trek Voyager episode entitled “Homestead.” In the Star Trek universe, the first celebration of this day did not occur until 2378, or approximately 315 years after the first contact.

History of First Contact Day

According to Star Trek canon, the first contact between humans and extraterrestrials occurred when Zefram Cochrane, a 21st-century human scientist, used his newly invented Warp I drive to become the first human to travel faster than the speed of light on April 5, 2063, in Bozeman, Montana.

However, this resulted in the warp signature being picked up by the T’Plana-Hath, a Vulcan survey ship. This prompted the Vulcans to land and make first contact with Dr. Cochrane – an event which is considered the central defining moment in human history because it eventually led to the creation of a unified world government and, eventually, the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161.

The United Federation of Planets is a federation of governments from over 150 planets. The first recorded celebration of First Contact Day, at least in the series, occurs in 2378 aboard the USS Voyager.

On this day, the favorite music of Dr. Cochrane is played, and his favorite foods are served. Some of his favorite songs include Roy Orbison’s “Ooby Dooby” and Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride.” One of his favorite foods is cheese pierogi.

Celebrating First Contact Day

Celebrating this holiday is probably a whole lot simpler than inventing the first Warp drive, but it can be just as much fun. A good way to celebrate this is to have a Star Trek-themed party where everyone shows up as their favorite characters in uniform.

You can then serve a variety of traditional Star Trek dishes, which include Andorian Cabbage Soup, Bajoran ale, Cardassian Yamok sauce, Ferengi Slug Steak, Klingon Bregit lung and Pipius claw, and of course, Vulcan Plomeek broth and Spice Tea. Just be sure to also make a plate of cheese pierogis for the good Dr. Cochrane, as well as some whiskey.

Another great way to celebrate this holiday is by having a Star Trek television episode viewing marathon. You can choose to watch the 79 episodes of the Original Series; 178 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation; the 172 episodes of Star Trek Voyager; the 176 episodes of Star Trek Deep Space 9; or the 22 episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series.

You can also have a Star Trek movie marathon and include movies such as Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek Generations, or the newer Star Trek movies. As of 2017, there are 13 Star Trek movies available.

Conclusion

While you are celebrating this holiday, be sure to give everyone you see the Vulcan Salute. And if you want to take it a step further, then you can always learn Vulcan. In fact, there are Vulcan Institutes where a person can learn Traditional Golic Vulcan, Modern Golic Vulcan, and many of the other Vulcan sister languages. After all, this holiday is all about the relationship between humans and Vulcans.