Come Tuesday, millions of Americans will gather to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of their nation in the country’s biggest national holiday.
To some, nothing beats patriotism and Independence Day is a holiday worthy of a picnic, red, white and blue garb and the blasting of fireworks at nightfall.
To others, the 4th of July is just another holiday and the significance is that it is a day off of work for most people.
So what exactly is Independence Day and why do American’s honor this part of their history?
Independence Day celebrates the day the U.S. secured independence from the British Empire after the Revolutionary War. The holiday can be on any day of the week and falls on the Fourth day of July every year.
For a little background and for those who haven’t seen the movie Patriot, here are a few tidbits on the Revolutionary War.
Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies fought to separate themselves from the UK and rule by the King - then George III.
These East Coast colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
They eventually went on to become the United States of America upon signing the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July 1776, although fighting continued for some time after this.
The American forces were led by George Washington and were supported with arms and supplies from France and Spain, thanks to diplomatic efforts by Thomas Jefferson.
Britain’s compulsion to impose British laws and taxation led to the rallying cry of, “No taxation without representation.” Britain's national debt was forcing the colonists to raise import tariffs and crack down on smuggling to raise funds.
In 1773, things escalated when patriots in Boston famously destroyed a shipment of tea by boarding three ships in Boston harbour and throwing 342 chests overboard in protest over the Tea Act. This became known as the “Boston Tea Party”.
The first celebration of the Fourth of July was in 1777 - the year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thirteen gunshots were fired in salute - one for each of the original American colonies. But the "Independence Day" name wasn't used until 1791.
In 1870, the 4th of July was made an unpaid holiday for federal employees, and in 1938 US Congress finally made it the paid holiday it is today.
The Philippines and Rwanda also observe Fourth of July anniversaries for their own reasons.
The U.S. gave the Philippines independence on that day in 1946 and the Rwandan genocide ended with U.S. help on July 4, 1994.
Outlandishly, Denmark also celebrates the U.S. version - it started with European expats in 1911, but now is just an “excuse for a nice day out."
Local 4th Celebrators
Dave Maiers of Becker and his family (wife, Janice) celebrate the Fourth with “a weekend of family togetherness, music, patriotism and love.”
Dave and Janice’s son, Jordan, will be playing with his band at the Hudson “Booster Days” 4th of July celebration. Last Saturday, they played as the headliner at "The Nest" in St. Cloud (above The Pickled Loon) and they played The Red Carpet a few weeks ago. They will also be playing at the Minnesota State Fair this fall.
“It's been so much fun,” said Dave. “They are so talented and so fun to watch.”
Dave says with everything going on in the world today, and with the lack of USA pride and citizenship in the press, he tries to do his best to celebrate and show how important being patriotic truly is.
“We are a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world,” he says, “despite what you may hear from the left and Hollywood. It’s so sad to see people losing their trust and understanding of what freedom is and how important we each are in keeping that garden of independence and entrepreneurship alive and well.”
Another (former) local patriot is Kayla Floyd (Gudmundson) and her husband, Matt, who reside in Florida. Matt and Kayla met in Colorado and were married in 2013.
Kayla says Independence Day is one of her favorite holidays because of it’s significance of celebrating ones freedom and country. Kayla works at Florida Hospital Tampa in the cardiac ICU as an RN, so she will be missing out on fireworks this year.
“My family always watched the Freedom Days fireworks in Becker. My mom (Linda) made caramel corn and we watched from Becker Furniture World,” Kayla said.
