I have celebrated Independence Day in some amazing ways. When we lived in Athens, (Tennessee, not Georgia), there used to be an awesome fireworks display every 4th of July. The first one I remember seeing was in the Proffit’s Shopping Center on Decatur Pike. It was fairly small, but several people, including the Proffit’s family, forked out for the town to see some nifty fireworks. Later when the city built a park out near I-75, the display was held there. Much bigger, much more impressive. The fireworks were shot off to music played on the local radio station. The show always ended with John Wayne’s America, Why I Love Her. Great memories!
Other times we went to the local fireworks stands and bought up what we figured was the biggest bang for our buck, (pun intended). In Niota there were no restrictions, so we’d invite a few friends over and set off the fireworks in the middle of the road. We watched for traffic while our dog chased the spinners and black cats all over. In Athens, there were restrictions, as we found out when a policeman showed up at our door asking my son and his friend to quit shooting off bottle rockets. We have celebrated the 4th at block parties, church breakfasts, and making homemade ice cream on the porch.
Celebrating a birthday is usually a one day event. The 4th of July is no exception except for one teeny tiny thing. Our nation may celebrate its birth on one day, but it came about over many days, even many years.
The 4th of July, 1776, was the day a group of men, the Continental Congress, representing the 13 British colonies officially adopted a document, The Declaration of Independence, thus separating from Great Britain. Of course, this document wasn’t a last minute endeavor. Conflict with Great Britain had been ongoing for a year before the
Continental Congress met on June 7th. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution that the colonies should be free and independent states, absolved from allegiance to the British crown.
It was this resolution that stirred the congress to come up with a formal declaration of the same. As in all things political, a committee was formed—in this case, the Committee of Five, consisting of John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. It was Jefferson who wrote the actual draft. On July 1st it was presented at another meeting of the Congress. After several revisions, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted. Hence the reason that the 4th is the day we celebrate the birthday of our United States.
And it wasn’t signed by all the delegates until August. It is definitely the thought that counts, however. When colonists heard the declaration, a statue of King George in New York City was melted down to make bullets, the king’s coat of arms in Philadelphia was broken up for kindling, and poor King George was burned in effigy in Savannah.
Over the years Americans have created some very interesting customs for celebrating the 4th, which didn’t become an official holiday until 1870. In New England it was customary to eat salmon on the 4th of July. Massachusetts was the first state to recognize the holiday, in 1781, well before the federal government made it official. There are about 15,000 fireworks displays in the United States on the 4th and Americans will eat 150 million hotdogs.
Three presidents have died on the fourth, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson (same year), James Monroe, and one president, Coolidge, was born on Independence Day.
So whether you have a barbecue, go to a fireworks show, spend the day at the lake or watch a parade, remember that it took a great deal of courage, determination, cooperation, and help from a higher power for our nation to come to pass. Men, women, and children fought for the right to be free, knowing full well the consequences if the cause failed. We need some of that courage, determination, and cooperation nowadays to keep what our forefathers fought so hard to achieve.

Susan Kite is a member of Author’s Guild of Tennessee and is the author of five published books. You can find her books at https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B00J91G0ZU/
Historical information from military.com and mentalfloss.com