Did you know there's an official Super Mario holiday? No? Well, don't feel badly if you didn't. It wasn't until just today. No, seriously: today is the first time in history that there's been an official day for Mario celebration. Nintendo even released a cool video of Mario sneaking around their offices to announce the occasion!

Happy Mario Day!

So, why March 10th? Great question. Any Mario historian will tell you that the character's actual birthday is July 9th, when he first appeared in the arcade version of Donkey Kong way back in 1981. However, some Nintendo purists insist that the video game icon's true birthday should coincide with the original release of Super Mario Bros., which occurred on September 13th, 1985. (That's right, Super Mario Bros. came out on Friday the 13th. How's that for trivia?) Unfortunately, neither Jul9 nor Sep13 look anything like the name "Mario." But, you know what date does? That's right; Mar10!

Celebrating Over 30 Years of Gaming Greatness!

I mean, as far as hashtag holidays go, it makes sense. We all celebrate Star Wars on May 4th, instead of the 25th when the original film actually came out. Why? Because "May the 4th be with you" is a much better pun than "May the 25th be with you." Let's face it, #MAR10DAY just sounds right!

Shop Mario Games

#MAR10DAY needn't have any any historic significance to the 30+ year history of Nintendo's mascot. It's a celebration of everything that Mario's ever meant to you: the fans. So, dust off those old controllers. Grab some friends for a Mario Party. Do a few laps in Mario Kart. Or go all the way to the beginning and dare to reread that immortal taunt of "Your Princess is in Another Castle." My point is, there is no wrong way to celebrate #MAR10DAY, so make it your own. Have fun with it. And, hopefully we can all do this again next year.

Happy Mario Day, everyone! Let us know how you're celebrating in the comments.