Celebrating the Fourth of July!

Although this year's summer holiday festivities were restricted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, certain traditions of this holiday weekend were still in evidence everywhere. Otherwise-quiet neighborhoods exploded with the bright lights and loud roars of fireworks; backyard barbecues smoked away, filling the air with the delicious smells of food on the grill; and people flew flags, hummed patriotic songs, and searched online for Boston Pops renditions of John Philip Sousa's marches. All of these July 4th customs have a surprisingly long history; many would be quite familiar to our ancestors.

The very first Fourth of July celebration came just one year after America declared independence from England. Before the Revolution, Americans were accustomed to celebrating the king's birthday every year by ringing bells, lighting bonfires, holding parades, and making speeches, so it wasn't a stretch to continue some of those activities for a new and greater cause. People were introduced to the Declaration of Independence via public readings, which were accompanied by concerts, parades, and the firing of cannons and muskets.

We almost didn't celebrate July 4th at all. John Adams, our second president, was fairly sure we would be remembering July 2nd as the date of our independence, as that was the date that twelve of the colonies approved the Declaration. However, there were a number of small editing tweaks needed and that was not actually completed until two days later. Hence, we celebrate the 4th and not the 2nd!

If your ancestors were in Philadelphia on 4 July 1777, they undoubtedly witnessed the first of our annual July 4th festivals. Newspaper reports from that evening describe the "armed ships and gallies [sic] in the river . . . dressed in the gayest manner, with the colours [sic] of the United States and streamers displayed." The celebration began with "a discharge of thirteen cannon from each of the ships and one from each of the thirteen gallies [sic], in honor of the Thirteen United States."

That first celebration continued with speeches, a band playing music, and even a "corps of British deserters, taken into the service of the continent by the state of Georgia" in attendance. An abundance of toasts, more gunfire, and finally, during the evening, ringing of bells and fireworks, beginning and ending with thirteen rockets. "Everything was conducted with the greatest order and decorum," concluded the article, although one wonders between the alcohol and the guns, exactly how that could be possible! (Pennsylvania Evening Post, 5 July 1777, quoted in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1911, pp. 372 and 373.)

Boston also had a celebration that first July 4th, with fireworks and gunfire, and it was actually Boston that was the first place in the new country to declare, in 1783, that the Fourth of July was an official holiday.

Food was a part of the first celebration of our independence, although no one knows exactly what was served at that first dinner in Philadelphia. By the early 1800s, though, partaking of "foreign and domestic liquors" with "hog broiled whole" and "barbacue [sic] dinners" were a major part of July 4th celebrations. It was, after all, summer, and picnics, often featuring cold salads, sweets, and plenty of liquids, as well as music and dancing were the order of the day. The further into the 1800s we look, the more ornate and overflowing were the tables in keeping with the general prosperity of the new nation.

It was not until 1870 that the Fourth of July become a national holiday called Independence Day. However, with almost one hundred years of celebrating already part of its history, our country had steeped itself in July 4th traditions.

Want to read more?

"Fourth of July—Independence Day," History.com, https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th

"Why Do We Celebrate July 4 with Fireworks?" by Sarah Pruitt, History.com, https://www.history.com/news/july-4-fireworks-independence-day-john-adams

"What do Americans Eat on July 4th?" Foodtimeline.com, http://www.foodtimeline.org/july4th.html#colonial4th