Why We Celebrate the Fourth of July With Fireworks.
Today, fireworks are a unifying factor in the many ways America honors the Fourth of July. John Adams would be pleased: On July 3, 1776—the day after the Founding Fathers finished the final draft of the Declaration of Independence—Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, about the momentous occasion (though he predicted the wrong date for the holiday that would commemorate American independence):
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, 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 Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
Adams may have gotten the date wrong, but he was right about the festivities. Independence Day’s first anniversary was celebrated with the pomp and circumstance we would recognize today—complete with fireworks. As the Virginia Gazette reported, people Philadelphia set the sky ablaze on July 4, 1777:
“The evening was closed with the ringing of bells, and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks, which began and concluded with thirteen rockets on the commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated. Every thing was conducted with the greatest order and decorum, and the face of joy and gladness was universal. Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more.”
The War of 1812 brought more fireworks traditions to Independence Day celebrations. Francis Scott Key wrote a poem entitled “Defence of Fort McHenry” while watching a battle rage in 1814. It was later set to the tune of a drinking song, retitled “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and became the U.S. national anthem. The lines “the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air” reinforce the use of fireworks in patriotic displays. Another composition, “The 1812 Overture,” has been co-opted to use in public fireworks displays, although the tune was written by Tchaikovsky about Napoleon’s unsuccessful invasion of Russia.
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A enjoyable read. But I wish federal holidays were celebrated in a more dignified way. To me, there are now TOO MANY paid--at least to the politicians--holidays and their only true purpose is reason to PARTY.
In the inner-city ghettos, no one seems to have the money to pay the rent yet fireworks purchases probably outsell weed and "back of the house" barbeque. The TNT content is so potent, it actually shakes the walls of nearby dwellings. And I feel for the feral dogs and cats, many seen running here and there in confused terror.
The country can do WITHOUT the fireworks.