John Adams may have predicted the later Independence Day celebrations or perhaps he started traditions with his words. Every Fourth of July, Americans have a holiday from work. Communities have day-long picnics with favorite foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans and all the fixings. The afternoon activities would not be complete without lively music, a friendly baseball game, three-legged races and a pie-eating or watermelon-eating contests. Some cities have parades with people dressed as the original founding fathers who march in parades to the music of high school bands. At dusk, people in towns and cities gather to watch the fireworks display. Wherever Americans are around the globe, they will get together for a traditional 4th of July celebration! The Declaration of Independence was first read in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, at the Freedom Festival at Independence Hall, costumed Americans re-enact historical scenes and read the Declaration of Independence for the crowd. In Flagstaff, Arizona, American Indians hold a three-day pow-wow around the Fourth of July, with a rodeo and dancing. In Lititz, Pennsylvania, hundreds of candles that were made during the year are lighted in the park at night and floated in the water while a “Queen of Candles” is chosen. The ship U.S.S. John F. Kennedy comes in full sail to Boston Harbor in Massachusetts on the Fourth of July, and the Boston Pops Orchestra plays a musical concert of patriotic songs as more than 150,000 people watch fireworks burst over the water. The sight and sound of a ringing bell represents freedom to most Americans because of the Liberty Bell that rang in Philadelphia when the new country was born. The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. Adams was off by two days, however. Certainly, the vote on July 2 was the decisive act.

But July 4 is the date on the Declaration itself. Jefferson’s stirring prose, as edited by the Congress, was first adopted by the vote of the 4th. It was also the first day Philadelphians heard the official news of independence from the Continental Congress, as opposed to rumors in the street about secret votes. Though the Fourth of July is almost iconic to Americans, some claim the date itself is somewhat arbitrary. New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775. The first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made on June 8. After hard debate, the Congress voted unanimously (12-0), but secretly, for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 2 (see Lee Resolution). In 1778, General George Washington marked the Fourth with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the sea, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France. In 1779, the Fourth fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5. In 1781, Massachusetts was the first legislature to recognize Independence Day. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4 an unpaid holiday for federal employees. Despite the genesis of Independence Day, it is largely uncommon for Americans to express anti-British sentiment on the day or to view it as a celebration of anti-colonialism. Indeed, most Americans today consider the United Kingdom their greatest ally. Rather than specifically as an opportunity to commemorate the end of British rule in the 18th century, contemporary Americans generally perceive the holiday as a celebration of the U.S.A. itself and the political values that motivated the United States Declaration of Independence, including explicit principles of Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and implicit ones of democracy, liberty, freedom, and equality under the law. Originally entitled Yankee Doodle, this is one of several versions of a scene painted by A. M. Willard that came to be known as The Spirit of ’76. Often imitated (or parodied), it is a familiar symbol of American patriotism.Independence Day, as the only holiday celebrating the United States as a whole, is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Independence Day is considered a federal holiday, which usually means that all non-essential federal institutions (like the US Mail Service, court systems, etc) are closed on the 4th. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation’s heritage, society and people. Families often mark the Fourth with a picnic or barbecue, and often gather with family relatives, taking advantage of the longer weekend or day off from work. Parades are often held the morning of the Fourth, baseball games are sometimes held, and the evening is usually marked by public displays of fireworks. July 4 fireworks are often accompanied by a pops orchestra playing patriotic songs such as God Bless America, America the Beautiful, My Country, Tis of Thee, Stars and Stripes Forever, The Star Spangled Banner, and the 1812 overture. Some of these songs include lyrics that recall images of the War of 1812. The 1812 overture is often accompanied by either a large bass drum or a cannon punctuating that represents the sounds of rockets and bombs. The Star Spangled Banner, also the USA’s national anthem, commemorates the United States flag that was visible by the light of the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air. This view of the flag throughout the night of bomb bursts was inspiring to the captive Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 and it provided hope concerning the ability of the United States to comptenently defend Fort McHenry.

Many US parades for July 4 involve gun salutes honoring veterans who have died for the country. Other features of July 4 parades involve Shriner mini-cars, high school marching bands, floats promoting civic organizations and politicians, and children riding decorated bicycles. Some parades in recent years have included absurd entries such as lawn chair brigade drill teams. Most US parades are led and followed by police cars and fire engines. Frequently, parade-goers line the streets with lawn chairs and blankets. They may wave United States flags and take off their hats as a sign of respect when the flag or veterans pass by in the parade. How shockingf to know that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two founding fathers of the US, and the only two men to sign the Declaration of Independence to become President passed away on the same day: July 4, 1826.

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