The Fourth of July, otherwise known as Independence Day is always celebrated on its calendar to acknowledge the United States’ independence from Britain.
Though this day has been declared the holiday, the process of American independence took much longer than a single day.
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution to free the United States from British rule. On June 10th, a committee, lead by Thomas Jefferson was formed to write a document for the occasion. Today, that document is known as the Declaration of Independence.
On July 4th, not a single person had signed the Declaration, though most had signed it by August of that year. On man, Thomas McKean did not place his signature on the Declaration until 1781. However, July 4th was chosen as the day of celebration and is a day of great festivities in the United States.
The first official Fourth of July celebration took place in Massachusetts in 1781. Other territories and states had taken up the tradition by the middle of the 19th century. Today, people in all fifty US states take part in parades, set off fireworks and have picnics to honor our ancestors who fought for our freedom.
Parades often take place in mid morning or just before noon. They include Independence Day floats, baseball teams, and majorettes twirling batons, and marching bands. People line the parade route and wave tiny American flags. After the parade, families and friends unite to have a picnic or BBQ, either in a backyard or at a beach. Steaks, ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob, fried or barbecued chicken, deviled eggs, fresh sliced tomatoes, lemonade, cold beer and iced or sun tea are all part of the fare.
