Do you celebrate the 25th of December? Do you celebrate the 31st of October? Do you celebrate the 14th of February?
Probably not. Instead, you probably celebrate Christmas, Halloween, or St. Valentine’s Day, right? You don’t celebrate the holiday as the day on the calendar, rather, you likely celebrate the event which happens on that date. Why? Because it’s not the day that’s important, it’s what happened on that day that is.
That’s why I don’t celebrate the “4th of July” – but I do celebrate Independence Day.
Independence Day (referred to by many as the “Fourth of July”), is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, where we declared our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and the tyrannical control of King George.
Interestingly, during the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain was July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain.
This week, during your celebrations and observances, take a moment to remind those around you that “the Fourth of July” is just a date on the calendar. “Independence” is what the day is all about. “Independence” is what our forefathers fought and died for. “Independence” is what our brothers and sisters serving in the Armed Forces are fighting to protect.
While we’re at it, why do we celebrate with fireworks?
Fireworks represent musket balls and cannon shot being hurled into those who would deny us our hard-fought Liberty.
Don’t take “independence” out of Independence Day!